Gundam Sorceress
by Matrix Dragon
Summary: In the year AC 195, Six Gundams are sent to Earth....
1. Part One

Matrix Dragon Presents....  
  
Gundam Sorceress  
  
(c) Matrix Dragon  
  
***  
  
The year is After Colony 195. The Earth Sphere Alliance   
currently rules much of Earth and the space colonies in the name of   
peace, using the deadly power of the Mobile Suits developed by the   
Romafeller Foundation to keep civilisation in line. However, a number   
of believers in peace without intimidation have been rising through   
the ranks of the ESA, and are now in the posistion where they can   
begin to change the world.  
  
There is a threat to this new era of peace. The organisation   
known as Oz hides within the ESA, waiting for the moment to strike at   
the Alliance and seize true power for themselves. They have worked in   
secret, destroying any trust that the colonies may have in the   
Alliance, in order to ensure that only they will have access to the   
military production abilities of space, most notably the legandary   
material known as Gundamium. They have the support of the Romafeller   
Foundation, who have secretly withdrawn their support from the ESA   
and given to an organisation with the same goals.  
  
What Oz, Romafeller and the Alliance do not know is that a new   
factor is about to enter the equation. A group of engineers   
responsible for many Mobile Suit designs, know of Oz's plans, and   
have secretly built a number of powerful Mobile Suits in space, using   
Gundamium alloys for armour, and using technology that makes even the   
most advanced Romafeller suits look like toys. Now, these Gundams are   
on their way to Earth, intent on destroying Oz.  
  
***  
  
Australia, Earth Sphere Alliance Nowra Base...  
  
"Commander, radar is detecting an approaching aircraft.   
Believed to be some form of Mobile Suit, although we can not   
determine the model. ETA six minutes."  
  
The base commander walked up behind the young officer, looking   
at the radar screen. "Can we establish contact?" he asked. He thought   
about the reports he had heard from around the world, about powerful   
Mobile Suits attacking and destroying ESA bases. They were supposed   
to be clad in Gundamium armour, which would make any suit an   
incredibly powerful threat.  
  
The young soldier shook his head. "No response from the Mobile   
Suit sir."  
  
"Launch three Aries to intercept." In less then a minute, three   
Aries Mobile Suits launched, their turbines kicking into life. In the   
control tower, the commander watched them go. "Keep trying to contact   
the suit. Inform it that it is in restricted airspace and will be   
shot down unless it surrenders."  
  
At the same time, the Aries were approaching the unknown suit.   
The flight leader activated his gun camera, transmitting the images   
back to the base. The moment it came into visual range, the pilot and   
those in the command tower got a good look at what would become known   
as Gundam 06, or Gundam Sorceress.  
  
06 was similar in general shape to the other Gundams. Like the   
others, there was a shield mounted on the left arm, although both   
hands were free, unlike most designs. It was painted with a   
combination of red and black, the eyes glowing a bright green. There   
was something on its back near the main thrusters, although no one   
could really get a good look at it. The only visible ranged weapons   
were the vulcan cannons in the head.   
  
"Target confirmed. Commencing attack." The Aries broke   
formation, spreading out to make themselves harder targets. Suddenly,   
06 sped up and raced towards the ESA Mobile Suits. It raised its   
left arm and there was a flash of light from under the shield. The   
laser pulse caught an Aries dead center, punching a hole through the   
suit and detonating its reactor. The Gundam flew past the explosion,   
turning to face the other two suits. "Get on its right side!" the   
flight leader screamed over the comm-net, banking hard to try to   
escape the line of fire. It was too slow, and took a hit to one of   
the turbines. He dropped towards the ground, watching as the last   
remaining Aries opened fire with its gunpod. The enemy suit simply   
shrugged off the bullets, raising its right arm. It wasn't until the   
flight commander saw two laser pulses destroy the Aries that he   
realised that there was a laser cannon in each of the Gundams arms.  
  
With a crash, the flight leaders Mobile Suit slammed into the   
ground, carving a small trench through a road. The pilot, desperate   
now, fought with the controls, trying to get the Aries to move.   
However, the Suit had only started to respond when a pair of golden   
laser pulses tore through it, vaporising the cockpit.  
  
***  
  
"All three Aries have been destroyed. The target has resumed   
its original course. ETA two minutes!" The young officer had failed   
to keep the panic out of his voice. The screams of the dying pilots   
had been heard over the radio, and now their destroyer - a single   
mobile suit! - was making its way towards the base.  
  
"Full alert," the commander ordered, appearing calm for the   
sake of his men. "All mobile suits and combat vehicles are to launch   
and prepare for assault."  
  
Alarms sounded across the base, as soldiers prepared to defend   
against the attackers. Many of them had heard the rumors from   
elsewhere in the world. Mysterious Mobile Suits, seemingly   
indestructible, tearing ESA bases apart and leaving almost no   
survivors. Some dispelled them as rumors, for nothing could be so   
powerful. Others guessed at the truth, but would never know how wrong   
they were.  
  
In less then one and a half minutes, all of the Mobile Suits   
and combat vehicles already on duty were ready for combat. Others   
were almost ready, and would join the battle in a few moments. It was   
seemingly impossible that any one suit could be powerful enough to   
stand against this sort of assault.  
  
It was very possible. With a roar of thrusters, the Sorceress   
swooped down from the sky, arm cannons launching golden death. The   
Gundams first victims was a squad of Leos, punctured by the accurate   
laser pulses. Moments later, the Aries squads raced towards the   
enemy, gun pods blazing.  
  
The regular rifle fire simply bounced off the Gundamium armour,   
and the mystery Suit was agile enough to avoid the larger missiles.   
Opening fire with its head vulcans, 06 destroyed the turbines of two   
Aries, sending them plummeting towards the ground below. Raising its   
arms again, 06 launched its laser pulses again, reducing the ESA   
Suits to scrap metal.  
  
Cutting the power to its thrusters, 06 dropped to the ground,   
still firing all of its ranged weapons. All around it, Mobile Suits   
either exploded or ran for cover. Then, without warning, the Gundam   
simply stopped shooting.  
  
"What's going on?" one of the Leo pilots asked.  
  
"The power cells for his laser weapons must be drained," his   
officer replied. "Keep firing until it's nothing but a pile of   
scrap!"  
  
The ESA Mobile Suits opened fire with their various gun pods,   
bullets and missiles of all kinds speeding towards the Gundam. Moving   
quickly, 06 dodged the main brunt of the attacks, taking to the air   
again. Its right arm reached towards the object on its back. Before   
any of the Suits around it could react, the Gundam drew a mecha-sized   
sword from the sheath on its back, slicing through two Aries. Now,   
the advanced suit was fighting at close and long range. Anything that   
got too close was destroyed by the blade, and shooting from a   
distance was just as ineffective.  
  
Moving quickly, the Gundam tore its way through the Mobile   
Suits, leaving a path of devestation behind it. On occasion, it   
targeted the smaller vehicles, but the majority of its attention   
seemed to be on the suits piloted by the elite division known as the   
Specials.  
  
In less then five minutes, one suit had destroyed much of the   
bases Mobile Suits, and began to turn its attention elsewhere.   
Warehouses and hangers were the first victims, destroyed by laser   
pulses and that massive sword. As flames consumed that section of the   
base, the Gundam began destroying aircraft, slicing the Suit carriers   
into pieces.  
  
In the Gundams cockpit, a young woman smiled to herself. She   
looked to be about sixteen, with long blond hair and green eyes.   
"I've destroyed the aircraft carriers. Now to finish off any suits   
still working and I'm done." She frowned suddenly as a flashing light   
appeared on a viewscreen to the right of her. Turning, she swore and   
brought her shield up to block a beam saber aimed right at her head.   
"Where the hell did you come from?" she growled at the enemy Leo. She   
noted the energy cannons on the Leos shoulders, along with a number   
of special markings, and guessed that this was the base commander,   
determined to try and stop her. "A commander that leads from the   
front. Now that's something I like to see." She opened a voice-only   
channel. "Might I know the name of the brave soldier in front of me?"   
  
"A girl?" the commander muttered, before growling a reply.   
"This is Colonel William Clark of the Earth Sphere Alliance Army, and   
commander of the Nowra Base. You'll pay for the deaths of my men!"   
And with that, he attacked, bringing his beam saber up towards the   
Gundam's head. 06 parried the attack with her own blade, then stepped   
forward, striking several times at the Leo. Clark was a skilled   
pilot, but a Leo was no match for a Gundam.  
  
This is almost too easy, the girl thought as her sword, also   
made from Gundamium, sliced through the Leos arm shield like paper.   
If it wasn't so important, this would be murder. "You've got a lot   
of skill," she said when she activated the comm-link again, "but   
you're just too outmatched, in skill and technology." And with that,   
she struck with a powerful overhead strike that cut through the Leo   
from head to crotch. The two halves fell away from one another, then   
exploded a few seconds later.  
  
06 studied the burning base. Satisfied that it was properly   
destroyed, the thrusters fired and the Gundam took to the air again,   
leaving behind its first victims in the war against Oz. In the   
cockpit, the girl enetered a command on a certain control panel,   
opening a secure line to space. "This is Lina Diggers. Mission   
complete, Nowra base has been destroyed."  
  
One of the small communications screens sprang into life,   
revealing another woman, apparantly in her early fifties by modern   
standards. Her hair was a mix of blond and grey, and her face showed   
some signs of aging, yet her green eyes were the focus point, a   
strange mix of the excitement of youth and the determination of   
someone that has seen hardship and suffering. "Understood Lina. You   
did well. For now, find somewhere safe to land, then hide the   
Sorceress for the night. I'll have a new mision for you soon."  
  
Lina nodded, then turned her attention to a map of the   
surrounding terrain. In a few minutes, she had located a forest that   
would safely conceal the Gundam. Changing course, she headed north,   
sticking close to the ground.  
  
The forest was some distance from civilisation. There weren't   
even farmers out here, and it was so remote that even tourists and   
campers would never find it. Lina landed the Sorceress in a clearing,   
then reached over and removed a cover to a switch. When she toggled   
the switch, a camoflage net shot out of a space on the Gundams upper   
back, settling over the mecha. Lina climbed out of the cockpit, and   
made a few adjustments to the net, then climbed back up to and popped   
open a hatch at the back, revealing a small stash of supplies.  
  
A few minutes later, Lina was working on getting a campfire   
going, cooking utensils in a small box behind her. She had a bit of  
food stored away, although she knew that she'd have to find more   
soon. Next time I'm near a town, I'll grab some food, she thought   
to herself.  
  
After some difficulty with the collection of leaves, sticks and   
paper, the young girl finally got the fire burning, then turned her   
attention to preparing the meal. Soon, she was watching the eggs cook   
over the coals, eagerly awaiting her dinner.  
  
"My first mission was a roaring success," she said quietly,   
looking up at the stars, just visible in the dying sunlight. "My   
quest to defend the colonies has begun. I just pray that I'm up to   
the task." She ate her meal in silence, then set up her swag and   
called it a night.  
  
***  
  
While Lina slept, an Oz aircraft was flying over the Pacific   
Ocean. On board, Lieutenant Zechs was working through all the data   
collected on the mysterious Mobile Suits that had appeared across the   
planet. He had recieved reports of a number of attacks on ESA bases   
by the Suits over the past twenty-four hours. There was too great a   
distance between the bases, and too little time between attacks for   
it to be the work of a single suit. The current estimate was at four,   
possibly five suits, all of which came from the Space Colonies.  
  
"Lieutenant, we've just recieved a report from Australia."   
Zechs looked up to see one of the pilots turning to face him. "An   
unknown Mobile Suit just destroyed the Nowra base. No confirmed   
survivors as of yet."  
  
"Add another Mobile Suit to the list," Zechs replied. "What are   
the local Alliance forces doing about it?"  
  
"ESA forces are searching the region where the Suit was last   
detected," the pilot replied. "Lieutenant, if I may speak openly?"  
  
"Go ahead," Zechs replied.  
  
"These Mobile Suits... Anything the Alliance does will have no   
effect on them, will it?"  
  
The Lightning Count shook his head, his face hidden behind the   
mask he always wore. "All reports confirm that these Suits are   
covered in Gundamium Alloys for armour. I've never heard of anyone   
spending so much on a Mobile Suit. We can expect that these....   
Gundams are state of the art. All of its systems will be just as   
powerful."  
  
"Gundam?"  
  
"That seems as good a name as any," Zechs replied. "When   
something is given a name, it becomes something more then just a   
myth, a legend. It becomes something real, and then you can destroy   
it completely."  
  
The two pilots were silent as they considered Zechs' words. A   
few minutes later, one of them spoke again. "Lieutenant? If the   
Gundams have such powerful armour, and we have access to that same   
form of armour, why is it that we don't use use it in our Mobile Suit   
designs?"  
  
"The cost of producing Gundamium is exceptionly high. It can   
only be produced in outer space in a complete vacuum, which causes it   
to require specialised production facilities, all of which are   
currently very limited." Zechs smiled faintly. "Transporting it to   
Earth increases the cost even more, but whoever created these Gundams   
didn't have to concern themselves with that particular factor."  
  
"I thought the colonies were pacifists," the second pilot   
commented. "Yet these Gundams may be the most powerful Mobile Suits   
ever encountered."  
  
"That is true," Zechs agreed. "Perhaps being isolated and cut   
off from the rest of civilisation has changed the colonies in ways we   
can not imagine."  
  
***  
  
It was the sound that woke Lina. She lay there in her sleeping   
bag, trying to identify the sound. It wasn't part of nature. In a   
matter of seconds she knew. Jet turbines, namely the Romafeller   
SL-435 series used in the Aries Mobile Suit. They're looking for me.  
  
Quickly and cleanly, she packed up camp, tipping a bucket of   
water over the fire and rolling up her swag. Everything else was   
packed away in the Gundam. Moving fast, she climbed up into the chest   
cavity of her mecha and stowed the swag in the storage area, before   
dropping into the pilot seat and activating the external sensors.  
  
"Three squads of Leos to the north, along with ten M21-A1   
Anaconda Main Battle Tanks supporting them. Two Leo squads to the   
east, and a squad of Aries near them. Four Aries squads and five   
Anacondas to the south, and another three squads of Leos to the west.   
Have they found me already and are just closing in?" she asked   
herself. "No, they're not moving towards me. They're all moving in   
different directions. They must be from different ESA bases, and are   
starting to meet up. It's just Murphy's Law that they're so close to   
here."  
  
Lina sighed as she sealed the cockpit. "So much for a good   
nights sleep. I can't stay here, but I'll have to destroy them before   
I leave."  
  
To the east, the Aries squad ran their spotlights over the   
sector below them. Despite the high power of the beams, they were   
mostly unable to penetrate the thick layers of forest, reflecting off   
the tree line. "This is useless," one of the pilots commented. "We'll   
never see a Mobile Suit through all this crap."  
  
"Then keep an eye on your other sensors," his commander   
snapped. "And keep the chatter down." He returned his own attention   
to his Suits own sensor systems, alert for any kind of reading that   
would expose the enemy Suit.   
  
In the Sorceress, Lina smirked. "Here we go," she said,   
powering up the machine.  
  
"Energy spike detected!" a suit pilot yelled as all of the ESA   
soldiers in the region snapped to attention. All of the war machines   
were able to determine the location of the suit thanks to the energy   
reading. A moment later, the dark shape of Gundam 06 emerged from   
under the tree line, turning to the north. The dark red and black   
colouring made good camoflage, with the only parts easily visible to   
human eyes the brightly glowing green eyes.  
  
"Fire, fire!" one of the Leo Sergeants yelled, as the units to   
the north opened fires, bright yellow tracer bullets ripping across   
the night sky. A number of the bullets impacted against the   
Sorceress's powerful frame, with little visible effect. In reply, the   
Gundam fired its rear thrusters, tearing through the forest at its   
enemies. The laser cannons built into its arms began launching golden   
blasts, lighting up the sky and blowing Leos apart.  
  
"Fools!" Lina screamed, her emerald eyes glowing with rage.   
"You still don't understand, do you? You can't hurt me!" As if   
demonstrating this fact, she drew the sword from its sheath on her   
back, slicing one of the Leos in two. As it exploded she spun on the   
spot, opening fire with her head vulcans and blowing apart another   
Leos cockpit. One of the other Leo squads moved to attack her. Golden   
death tore the squad apart, as Lina selected the next target. The   
Anacondas. Perfect.  
  
The MBT's were located on a nearby road, main guns raised and   
armed. As the Gundam turned to face them, all ten tanks opened fire   
with a salvo that hit the Mobile Suit dead centre, pushing it back   
for a few seconds. In the cockpit, Lina growled, opening fire with   
her arm cannons and wiping the tanks from existance.  
  
Slightly calmer now, Lina assesed the situatuion. All of her   
suits systems were still fully operational, and all the targets to   
the north had been destroyed. All the enemy suits had to die, it was   
simply a matter of deciding who was to go first. After a moments   
thought, she chose the east, launching herself at the Aries squad.  
  
The flying mobile suits were designed for high speed ranged   
arial combat. They lacked the capabilities for effective close-range   
combat. Lina knew this fact, and used it to her advantage, carving   
through her foes at close range with her sword. She shredded the   
squad in two passes, before landing and targeting the Leos with her   
arm cannons.  
  
As the Leos exploded under the barrage of laser pulses, Lina   
swung her Gundam around to the south, where the four squads of Aries   
raced towards her, gunpods blazing. A number of the Suits launched   
missiles from wing hardpoints. Lina swore, and took to the air again,   
ducking and weaving around the attacks, before firing her arm cannons   
and vulcans again. Several Aries were destroyed in the first pass by   
the ranged attacks, and two more were taken down by the Gundams   
sword.  
  
As Lina came around for a second pass, a status display began   
flashing urgently. Swearing under her breath, the girl realised that   
she was almost out of ammunition for the vulcans. Arm cannons and   
sword only. Save the vulcans for when you need them.  
  
Quickly and cleanly, she carved a path through the Aries   
squads, before twisting in mid-air and shooting more down with her   
arm cannons. Only five Aries remained from the southern group, with   
the Anaconda's backing them up. The Sorceress grabbed a gunpod that   
had been used by one of the fallen Aires. Holding the rifle in its   
left hand and its sword in its right, the Gundam attacked the final   
Aries, reducing them to scrap.   
  
The Leos from the west group held their ground, trying to   
destroy the lone Suit by ranged attacks. Lina ignored them for a   
moment, turning her attention to the final tanks. The Anaconda's   
gunners fired their 120mm main guns, trying to crack a hole in the   
Gundamium alloys. Lina brought her arm shield up, blocking the   
majority of shells. As the gunners tried to reload for another salvo,   
Lina opened fire with the gunpod and her arm cannons, easily   
destroying the smaller vehicles.  
  
"Last and least," Lina commented, turning to her final   
attackers, "your turn." The Gundam ignited its rear thrusters,   
speeding across the small distance seperating the Leos and the   
Sorceress. As she approached, Lina fired the gunpod, cutting down two   
of the Leos before running dry. Her arm cannons took out four more,   
and then she was amidst them. She slammed the empty gunpod into one   
Leos' cockpit, crushing the pilot. Her Gundam's sword sliced through   
several more. One Leo drew a Beam Saber. Lina fired her arm cannons,   
punching through the Suits chest region. As the ESA Suit fell to the   
ground, she caught the Beam Saber in her Gundams left hand, then   
began using both blades to carve her way through the enemy.  
  
Soon, Lina stood alone, the battlefield around her burning.   
Lina regretted the damage she had done to the forest, but she didn't   
have time to stand around and watch the bushland burn. More ESA units   
were on their way, and she couldn't fight them forever. She tossed   
the Beam Saber aside and sheathed her sword. Pausing for a moment to   
take an ammo drum from a Leos gunpod, she then took to the air again,   
racing away from the battleground. In the cockpit, the young woman   
yawned, then hoped that she'd find somewhere to sleep for a while.  
  
***  
  
In less then twenty-four hours, the military forces of the   
Earth Sphere Alliance, Oz and the Romafeller Foundation have found a   
new horror story. Single Mobile Suits, appearing out of nowhere,   
leaving destruction in their wake. No one could match them in battle,   
even the most advanced models no match for these Gundams.  
  
Zechs said that when you give something a name, it becomes   
real, something you can fight and destroy. But it also becomes fear   
given form.  
  
A new age has begun. The Age of the Gundams.  
  
***  
  
TO BE CONTINUED.... 


	2. Part Two

Matrix Dragon Presents....  
  
Gundam Sorceress  
Part Two  
  
Most of this isn't my creation. Surprised? I didn't think so.  
  
***  
  
A few hours ago, the Gundam Sorceress had fought a number of   
Earth Sphere Alliance Mobile Suits and armoured vehicles, destroying   
all of them in a short but brutal battle. Now, several platoons of   
Leo Mobile Suits, supported by Aries suits and attack helicopters in   
the air, had secured the site to try and find information that would   
aid them in future battles against the Gundam.  
  
Colonel David Talbot, ESA Army, watched as investigators   
studied the wreckage of the various mobile suits. He expected that,   
true to form, the investigators would spend weeks, even months,   
studying photographs, black boxes and such before someing to the same   
conclusion the experienced pilots here had already made. He could see   
how the Gundam had destroyed a number of suits with a close range   
weapon. He'd heard stories from the survivors of the Nowra attack   
that the Gundam carried a massive sword, probably made from similar   
materials to the armour. Most of the Leos that were destroyed in   
ranged attacks early on in the battle had been taken out by accurate   
laser pulses that penetrated the Leo's reactors. A lot of the Aries   
had been destroyed in close where they were weakest. And when the   
Gundam was low on ammo for its head vulcans and arm cannons, it had   
grabbed the gunpods of fallen suits, allowing it to keep fighting at   
a distance.  
  
All in all, David was very impressed. Despite the fact that   
this pilot was an enemy, he had remarkable skills. As an experienced   
pilot himself, David wished that there was some way for a fair fight   
with this mystery person.  
  
***  
  
Once again, Lina had hidden the Gundam in a forest, simply   
because she couldn't think of anywhere else to hide it. Australia was   
either forest, desert or farmland in most regions. There were   
mountains, but none in locations that would make hiding a giant robot   
a simple matter.  
  
Right now, she was busy reloading the Gundam's weapons systems.   
The arm cannons were almost fully recharged, but the head-mounted   
Vulcan cannons were almost completely empty. The Mobile Suits   
designers had known about the potential weakness of a weapon that   
depended on a supply of ammunition in the type of war that Lina would   
be fighting in, and had designed the Vulcan to use the same 50mm   
ammunition as the gunpods of the Leo and Aries Suits, providing Lina   
with a constant supply.  
  
She had found a commercial radio station on her mobile suits   
radio, and she ended up singing softly as she fed the ammo belts into   
the autocannons. Once she was done there, she climbed into the   
cockpit and activated the satelite uplink, before she began working   
at a furious pace.  
  
"Okay, they've got to be co-ordinating their search efforts,"   
she muttered to herself, "which means that the data has to be stored  
somewhere. It'd have to be transmitted between bases, which means   
it's online. The Alliance's Milnet would be the place to look."  
  
Accessing the Milnet was as easy as ever, thanks to a number of   
backdoors Lina had learnt of over the years. The Alliance had rather   
poor computer security, due to a rather ironic fact. Fearing the   
chance of rebels accessing ESA military information, the Alliance   
created their security systems in house, using programmers who could   
be trusted. These programmers were members of a ESA unit known as Net   
Force, the cyberspace division of the Specials, Oz's cover group.  
  
In order to allow Oz better access to the Alliance's military   
data, Net Force had created a number of back doors for their own use.   
Three years ago, a member of a Specials unit assigned to Colony F-6   
had been captured by rebels, and the details on a number of backdoors   
were revealed, before they staged his death by drug overdose.  
  
In a matter of minutes, Lina was searching through the files on   
the Australian servers, trying to find troop movements, notably those   
connected to search parties. She was ignored by any system defences,   
electronic or otherwise, thanks to the ident-code her signal carried.   
A Specials ident.  
  
"Hmm... troop transfers to the Middle East battlegrounds, Leo   
construction rates at Australian factories, bingo! Mobile Suit   
movements in the state of Victoria." A diagram came up on the screen,   
showing the region that Lina was currently in. After that, the map   
was covered by a grid, which lit up with details of troop movements.  
  
"They're searching on a sector by sector basis. And it looks   
like they've actually slowed the search." She selected a number of   
units for better detail, only to find that it was classified at a   
level of security that she didn't have. "Damn. I was afraid of that.   
Maybe if I..." Using a few programs she had developed recently, she   
managed to trick the security systems into granting her access.  
  
"All of these units are either holding their current posistion   
or moving to reinforce Mobile Suits already in the field." She sat   
back in her chair, arms behind her head. "Is it because of me? Have I   
already spooked them to the point where they're taking extra security   
measures?" She thought about that for a moment, then decided that she   
was safe for the time being. Shutting down the satelite uplink, she   
adjusted the back of her seat, turned off the radio, and pulled the   
blanket over her. She was too spooked by the earlier encounter with   
ESA troops to sleep outside the Gundam.  
  
***  
  
There was a beeping noise. It was at the edge of Lina's   
hearing, interferring with a rather nice dream. Groaning in   
annoyance, the Gundam pilot forced herself to wake up, glaring at a   
flashing light and trying to remember what it meant. After a few   
seconds of searching through a sleep-fogged mind, she realised that   
it was the comunication console. Checking that the origin of the call   
came from where she suspected, Lina pressed a button. Instantly the   
main screen came to life, displaying the woman Lina had spoken to the   
night before.  
  
The woman looked at Linas appearance, still covered by the   
blanket, and raised an eyebrow. "Sleeping in the Suit? I thought you   
said you weren't obsessed."  
  
"Very funny Grandma," Lina replied. "I ran into a few problems   
with Alliance patrols looking for me. Seems that one Mobile Suit   
destroying a base scared them."  
  
"Not just one base," Brianna Diggers said. "I've been   
monitoring global communications. There have been reports of powerful   
Mobile Suits across the globe. Several Alliance bases and storage   
facilities have been wiped off the face of the Earth. All of the   
confirmed Suits seem to be constucted from Gundanium alloys."  
  
"Other Gundams?" Lina asked. "Now?"  
  
Brianna nodded. "Apparantly so. They all arrived yesterday, the   
same time as you did." Part of the screen changed to display a list   
of reported sightings. Two of them were in Australia, which the   
Gundam pilot marked off as her appearances. The rest were scattered   
all over the planet, ranging from a transforming Suit with a fully   
fuctional beam rifle sighted over the Pacific, to a Suit with two   
curved blades fighting alongside the Arab forces. The current number   
of suits was estimated to be somewhere between six and eight, thanks   
to unconfirmed sightings around the globe.  
  
"It's impossible for all of them to begin operating on Earth on   
the same day if they're all independant of each other," Brianna   
commented. "There must have been some sort of plan, and we ended up   
as part of it by accident."  
  
Lina looked over the data her grandmother was presenting to   
her. "Someone else has been producing Gundams for the purpose of   
attacking Oz," she said after a few minutes of consideration. "All   
the Alliance bases that have been attacked contained Specials units.   
I'll bet that those particular Suits were targeted first."  
  
"I'll see what I can find on that train of thought," Bri'   
promised. "Any ideas on how to deal with these new Gundams?"  
  
"I say we ignore them for now," the young woman replied. "None   
of them are on this continent, so chances of meeting up with them at   
the moment are rather remote. If we watch their behaviour, we'll   
learn just what their intentions are. For now, we'll just concentrate   
on my targets."  
  
Brianna nodded. "That was my line of thought too. I found some   
potential targets that look better then just ESA bases and   
warehouses."  
  
"Lemme see." A side screen displayed the list the woman had   
compiled. There was a number of factories, along with a spaceport and   
several shipyards. What got Lina's attention was the target that her   
grandmother had placed at the top of the list. A military base   
devoted to the testing of prototype Mobile Suits. "Currently testing   
the C-Series Aries and the new Tauros Space Mobile Suits," she   
muttered as she read the details of the base. "Looks like a good   
target, but I'll have to get to the other side of the continent."  
  
"Steal an Suit carrier," Bri' suggested. "The Alliance has   
thousands of those."  
  
***  
  
David Talbot read over the report faxed to him. "Six Gundams,"   
he muttered. "The Gundam first seen on the Australian continent has   
been designated Zero Six."  
  
"Great, we get the last one," James Ritter replied. He was   
looking at an image of 06 taken from the gun camera of a Leo   
destroyed at Nowra. It showed an extremely poor image of the Gundam   
Sorceress tearing its way through several Aries. "An entire base   
couldn't stop it sir. What can we do against it?"  
  
David skim read the next section of the report. "I don't belive   
this," he said, disgusted. He tossed the papers onto the desk and   
swore quietly. "Standing orders are to capture the Gundams and bring   
them in for study. It seems that they're using weapons and technology   
beyond even the newest designs the Alliance has on the drawing   
board."  
  
"How the hell are we meant to capture a virtually   
indestructable Mobile Suit?" James demanded, half angry, half curious   
at what the response would be.  
  
"It says that suit commanders are expected to use their own   
initiative when encountering these Suits," David replied. "That   
translates to: We don't have a clue. Try whatever you want, but don't   
blame us if it doesn't work."  
  
Grinning slightly, James leaned back in his chair and propped   
his feet up on the table. "So, it's up to us. I say we take it down   
at the kneecaps and thrusters. Cut down on its manuverability."  
  
"The hard bit's actually getting a decent shot at the   
kneecaps," David replied. "Feet off. I say we shoot to kill. If we   
can bring it home in one piece, all the better."  
  
"Sounds like a plan to me," James said.  
  
***  
  
The Sorceress flew towards its latest target, flying NOE to   
prevent radar detection. In the cockpit, Lina looked over maps of the   
Echuca base.  
  
"Suit Carriers are stored in hangers on the north side of the   
base," she commented to herself. "I'll come in from the east like the   
original plan, and decimate the bases troops and force any non-  
combatants to evacuate. That'll give me the time I need to load the   
Sorceress into a carrier and take off. Then it's only a question of   
how far I get before they shoot me down."  
  
Removing the maps from the viewscreens, Lina checked her sensor   
array. There were no ESA Suits within the range of their inferior   
sensors. Lina smirked and increased the power to the turbines.  
  
she thought to herself.   
  
***  
  
Asteroid 1738-D is a rather unimportant object, loacted beyond   
the moons orbital path. In the early days of space exploration, it   
was used as a refueling station for ships on their way to the outer   
colonies. It was abandoned almost twenty years ago, following the   
development of more efficent ships, and the Earth Sphere Alliance   
cutting down on space travel.  
  
Ten years ago, the installation on the asteroid was repaired   
and rebuilt, to serve a new purpose. It was here that the Gundam   
Sorceress had been built, beyond the reach of both the Alliance and   
Oz. And it had become the home of the Gundam's creator.  
  
Brianna Diggers sat in front of a large monitor that displayed   
several Mobile Suits in action. The Suits were a new design, made for   
space combat. They were painted dark black, with dark red stripes   
running along a number of the panels.  
  
The Suits were engaged in heavy midair manuvers, ducking and   
weaving around a group of slower Aires suits. From the ground, remote   
controled turrets opened fire on the suits. Smoothly and cleanly,   
they turned and fired their gunpods, destroying the turrets. After   
several minutes of simulated combat, they transformed to a strange   
fighter mode and flew towards a base visible in the distance.  
  
"So these are the Tauros Space Mobile Suits," Brianna said.  
  
"That's right," a male voice replied over the speakers. "One of   
my men recorded that five days ago. A live fire exercise. That means   
that the Suits have nearly completed testing. It's almost impossible   
to gain data on the test flights in space, but word is that   
Romafeller is impressed."  
  
"They should be, considering how much money they've pumped into   
this project," Bri' pointed out. "Any idea on how the first   
production models of these suits are going to be desployed?"  
  
"A few rough details so far. The first thousand or so off the   
factory line are being sent to the Specials Space Division, to   
replace the GS-5S Space Leos currently being used. After that, the   
next few groups of suits will be sent to the conventional Alliance   
Space Forces. Then work will begin on a planetary version."  
  
The Gundam engineer smiled wickedly, leaning back in her seat.   
"I get the feeling that by the time the Tauros Suits for the Alliance   
forces are under construction, there might not be an Alliance to   
recieve the suits."  
  
"You think Oz is going to make their move soon?" the voice   
asked.  
  
"They have to move soon. Noventa and his allies are in   
posistion to begin causing changes in the Alliance. If they begin   
disarming their forces, then Oz and Romafeller will lose most of   
their power."  
  
"Good point. I'll sniff around, see what I can find. If you're   
right, they've got to leave some sort of evidence of what they're   
planning. Take care of yourself." And with that, the words 'call   
terminated' appeared on a small screen on the edge of Bri's vision.  
  
Sighing softly, Brianna saved the recording of the Tauros   
prototypes, then entered several commands into the computer, bringing   
up an computer generated image of the Earth. Zooming in on a certain   
area, the detail of the image improved, becoming a more conventional   
map that showed major military units currently in Australia. She   
focused her attention on one base, waiting to see what happened.  
  
***  
  
Ten kilometres east of the Echuca base, two Leo Suits were   
patroling the area. They moved slowly and cafefully, watching for   
even the slightest thing out of place. They had heard the stories   
about the Gundam, how it appeared out of nowhere and destroyed Mobile   
Suits in seconds. The fact that there was very little confirmed   
information about Gundam 06 made it even more frightening.  
  
"Do you think it would come here?" one of the pilots asked,   
looking in every direction. He was fresh out of training, and   
assigned to the care of a more experienced pilot. The arrival of the   
Gundams made made the job more frightening. The patrol Suits were the   
first to go, and he was still too young to be prepared for death.  
  
"Maybe," the other pilot replied. "Besides, our job isn't to   
figure out IF it's coming here, it's to make sure that we see it   
before it gets too close. Leave questions like that to the intel   
boys."  
  
"I guess." Still nervous, the younger pilot glanced around,   
looking at the surrounding area. There didn't seem to be anything out   
of place. Following an established procedure, he began focused scans   
to the 90 degree arc in front of him.  
  
That was his last action. With his Scout Leos sensors focused   
in one direction, he couldn't register the sudden energy surge to his   
right. His older partner did detect it, and turned towards the   
potential target, but his gunpod was only raised halfway before a   
laser pulse blasted its way through his suits chest.  
  
Screaming in surprise and fear, the young pilot spun in the   
direction of the laser pulse. He saw a flash of red and black, heard   
the roar of thrusters, and then he was dead.  
  
The Sorceress removed her sword from the Leos cockpit, then   
turned to look in the direction of the base. I hate killing   
rookies, Lina thought to herself. Firing her thrusters,   
she continued on her journey.  
  
***  
  
"Commander, I'm getting no response from patrol unit nine." The   
communications officer glanced up from his workstation. Behind him,   
the captain on duty was scowling.  
  
"Launch three Aries to investigate." As the control tower staff   
moved to obey that order, the captain picked up the phone built into   
his seat and punched in a number. After several rings, he got an   
answer. "Sir, we have lost contact with two Scout Leos. I've   
dispatched three Aries to investigate, but-"  
  
"Indeed," the base commander agreed. "Take the base to stage   
two alert. All Suits are to be prepared for immediate launch."  
  
"Yes sir." As he hung up the phone, the captain saw the Aries   
Suits take to the air, hovering for a few moments before all the   
turbines powered up and they raced off into the distance.   
  
***  
  
Alarms sounded across the base as pilots ran for their Suits.   
As many powered up their massive war machines, there were a number of   
prayers and wishes, hoping that this was anything but what they   
thought it was.  
  
The Gundam pilots had not yet realised it, but their greatest   
weapon was not the powerful Suits they controlled, but the fear they   
had planted in the Alliance and Oz. When they destroyed entire bases   
and armies on their own, without suffering any damage, they gave   
death a physical form.  
  
As he sealed the hatch to his cockpit, David Talbot went over   
the plans in his mind. "Please let this work," he whispered to   
himself before opening a channel. "All Suits, this is Colonel Talbot.   
Form up in defense posistion seven-nine-three."  
  
Quickly and cleanly, the Alliance Suits moved into posistion,   
raising their gunpods towards the horizon, waiting for any word from   
the three Aries Suits investigating the missing pods.  
  
They got a response all right. There was a sudden burst of   
static and screaming, followed by three explosions several kilometres   
away. "Damn," Talbot muttered. "All Leos maintain posistion," he said   
over the radio. "Aries squadrons, increase altitude to eight-  
hundred."  
  
"Roger Colonel, increasing to eight-hundred," James Ritter   
replied as the Aries climbed higher. Then James spoke again.   
"Control, this is Aries-Prime. I'm detecting an energy buildup   
bearing-"  
  
He never finished that statement. A beam of golden energy   
appeared out of nowhere, punching through the control tower like it   
was made of paper. As the beam faded, the control tower exploded,   
launching flames and debris in every direction. "Shit, where'd that   
come from?" James demanded.  
  
On the ground, David and several other pilots had traced the   
beam to its source. There was a Mobile Suit almost two kilometres   
away and approaching fast. As David zoomed in, he saw that its left   
arm was outstretched, a thin trail of smoke coming out of a gun port   
just above the wrist. The small but powerful design, the red and   
black armour, and the evil looking sword in its right hand revealed   
the Suits identidy.  
  
"Target confirmed!" David screamed. "Gundam Zero-Six, bearing   
ninety-eight degrees, range two kilometres. All Suits, target leg and   
arm joints. Anywhere else will have no effect." Leading by example,   
he opened fire on the Gundam, the tracers leaving a bright after-  
pattern in the afternoon air. A few seconds later, other Suits joined   
him, trying to cripple the machine approaching them.  
  
***  
  
Lina assesed the situation. Taking out the control tower had   
taken almost 5% of her left arm cannons power cell, but it was worth   
it. The Alliance suits were taken by surprise, their controlling body   
damaged. Now it was time to completely shatter them.  
  
With the roar of the Suits thrusters, the Gundam ducked and   
weaved around the majority of the weapons fire, only a small nuber of   
bullets actually impacting against the outer armour. Taking to the   
air, the Sorceress charged towards her first target. The Aries Suit   
tried to dodge, but Lina managed to adjust, the Gundam's feet   
slamming into the cockpit of the weaker Suit and killing the pilot   
instantly.  
  
As the wounded Aries fell to to Earth, the Sorceress turned its   
attention to the other Suits in the air. The Gundam raised its arms,   
and laser pulses began ripping through the lightly armoured Aries.   
Those in close were destroyed instantly, while those a greater   
distance managed to fall back, angling for a clearer shot.   
  
On the ground, David swore as he saw 06 shred several Aries   
Suits in a matter of seconds. "Aries squadrons, fall back and   
regroup. Leo Suits and combat vehicles, continue firing!"  
  
Lina swore as more of the weapons fire from the ground found   
its target. Ducking around a squadron of Aries for cover, engaged the   
head vulcans and opened fire on the land-based Suits. The Leos   
unlucky enough to be in the line of fire detonated almost instantly   
as the 50mm rounds punched through the outer armour and into their   
engines. A wicked smile on her face, Lina dove towards the ground,   
taking out several more suits on the way down.  
  
The Leos backed up as the Sorceress landed, creating a rather   
large impact crater underneath it. The Gundam stood up and studied   
the Alliance Suits, its green optics glowing brightly. Gunpods blazed   
as the soldiers tried with everything they had to damage the Mobile   
Suit even slightly. The Gundam seemed to ignore the gunfire, instead   
leaping at the closest Suits and shredding them with it's sword.  
  
Calmly and quickly, Lina began tearing a path through the Leo   
suits. Like those she had faced at the Nowra base the day before,   
these soldiers were no match for a Gundam. Nothing they did could   
even harm the outer armour, let alone damage anything important. Lina   
scowled as she finished destroying the Suits nearby.   
  
***  
  
"Sweet Eris," Ritter muttered as 06 stabbed a Leo in the chest,   
going right through the cockpit. The Gundam pushed the suit off its   
blade, before turning on the spot and blasting an Anaconda tank with   
its arm cannons. "What a monster." Then his eyes narrowed as the   
Sorceress turned to deal with a group of Leos armed with heavy   
launchers. "Now. Specials Aries, regroup and attack by wave. Other   
Aries disperse and provide covering fire."  
  
Lina swore as rifle fire errupted across her back. The advanced   
Mobile Suit stumbled slightly as the first wave of Aries flew   
overhead. She targeted them and raised her arm cannons, but was   
distracted by an alarm begining to scream in her left ear. Glancing   
in that direction as she shut off the alarm, she saw the next wave   
launch half a dozen missiles at her. "Bastards!" she spat as she   
fired all her thrusters and activated her countermeasures. All six   
missiles detonated against the chaff and flares released from   
compartments on the Gundams legs. The Aries pilots that had launched   
the missiles ignored this, banking left and putting some distance   
between them and their enemy. The next wave approached, most of them   
armed with standard gunpods, but two of them had missile launchers.  
  
But the pilot of the Sorceress had caught onto the plan of   
attack the airborne Suits were using. Changing directions so fast   
that the g-forces pushed Lina back into her seat, she charged at the   
Aries, head and arm cannons firing. Taken by surprise at the tight   
turn the Gundam had performed (One beyound the abilities of any   
Mobile Suit before now) the Aries pilots only fired a few shots   
before they were destroyed. 06 flew past the wreckage and towards the   
next group, sword at the ready.  
  
David cursed as he watched Mobile Suits split in two. He saw a   
small number of pilots eject, but overall, most of them were killed   
by that Gundams sword. "There has to be some way to stop it," he   
muttered to himself. But there seemed to be no other choice but to   
keep firing and hope he found a weak point.  
  
The Alliance Colonel had no way of knowing that Lina was as   
angry as he was, but for two seperate reasons. One, although there   
were Mobile Suits here with Specials markings and IFF codes, the   
majority seemed to be conventional Alliance soldiers that she had no   
battle with for now. The other cause for her anger was at herself.   
She had gotten overconfident in her abilities and those of her   
Gundam, and the Alliance had managed to take her by surprise.  
  
"Overconfidence," she muttered as she took out two Aries.   
"Grandma taught you better then that. Idiot." She studied the   
battlefield. As in her previous battles, her first sledgehammer-style   
attack tore ragged holes in the defense lines, scattering the ESA   
troops everywhere. A few jumps around the battlefield to destroy what   
was left, and then she could head for the hangers.  
  
Feet thrusters roaring, the Sorceress took out an Aries with a   
roundhouse kick, crushing the cockpit. David watched as the Suit   
dropped to the ground before exploding. A few seconds later his   
Suits gunpod ran dry. He glanced at the ammo counter on a display   
panel, then narrowed his eyes. "Fuck this," he muttered, tossing the   
giant rifle aside. "Time for a blaze of glory." He pulled a beam   
saber out from under his arm shield, activated it and fired his   
thrusters.  
  
Lina turned, spotting Davids movement out of the corner of her   
eye. She raised her left arm cannon but never got a chance to fire,   
the Leo slamming into her Suits chest. The Gundam was forced back   
several steps before Lina regained control. She targeted her head   
vulcans, but the Leo rammed its beam saber into the Gundams face.  
Although unable to penetrate the alloys the eyes were made from, they   
were able to block Lina's view.  
  
"Hold your fire!" Ritter screamed over the comm-net. "You'll   
hit the colonel!" The weapons fire across the base died out, as   
everyone watched the two Suits struggle with one another.  
  
In the Leo, David increased the power to his right arm and Beam   
Saber to the redlines. Warnings began flashing over the cockpits   
viewscreens, but he ignored them, his attention focused on the   
Gundam. "The optics are a weak point," he muttered, remembering an   
earlier conversation with Ritter. "Destroy them and the Gundam is   
weakened."  
  
Lina had reached the same conclusion. Making a wild guess on   
the location of the Leo's arm, she managed to grab the right forearm   
with 06's hands. Then, in one smooth motion, the Gundam easily   
crushed the neotitanium armour plating, completely tearing off the   
lower arm. The beam saber landed several dozen metres away,   
deactivated and worthless. Lina smirked as her displays cleared up,   
although there was a small amount of static. The left eye seemed to   
be slightly damaged.  
  
In the Leo, David opened a small panel and typed in a command   
on the keypad there. Popping open his restraints, the colonel opened   
the cockpit hatch and leapt out, landing on the Gundam's knee joint   
before dropping to the ground.  
  
Inside 06, Lina saw the Alliance officer start running and put   
the pieces together, but before she had a chance to fall back, the   
Leo exploded in a massive fireball. David was lifted into the air by   
the force of the explosion, travelling almost thirty metres before   
hitting the ground with a sickening crack.  
  
High above, James Ritter circled the plume of smoke. "Did he   
kill it?" he wondered out loud. His question was answered when   
several laser pulses took out a number of Suits. Banking hard left,   
he was too slow to avoid the shot aimed at him, a sphere of golden   
energy tearing off his right manuvering wing and carving a gash in   
one of his engines.  
  
Gundam Sorceress emerged from the cloud of smoke, a vision of   
Death. Some distance away, David Talbot rose to his feet, left arm   
hanging at his side, just in time to see the final Suits and armoured   
vehicles fall against the powerful machine. Sighing sadly, he limped   
towards the nearest Suit that looked like it had an intact comm-link.   
The base was lost, but he could at least sound the evacuation order   
and get the survivors out.  
  
***  
  
Moving quickly, Lina loaded the Gundam into the Suit Carrier.   
Like most of the base, the aircraft hangers had been evacuated,   
helped along by the Gundam firing a few shots in their direction. Now   
there was almost no-one left in the base, allowing Lina Diggers to go   
about her tasks in peace.  
  
However, she didn't have forever. It was likely that other   
Alliance bases in the area were sending troops to secure the   
battlezone, not to mention attempt to destroy the Sorceress. While   
she doubted that anything other then overwhelming force would defeat   
her suit, she didn't intend to push her luck anymore then she had to.  
  
Thumping the ramp control panel as she ran past, Lina sprinted   
towards the cockpit. Dropping into the pilots seat, she began   
powering up the engines. "Plenty of fuel, engines in the green," she   
muttered, glancing at status displays. "Looks good."  
  
A few moments later, James Ritter watched as the Suit Carrier   
sped down the runway. "Evac?" one of the nearby soldiers wondered.  
  
"No, the Gundam," Ritter growled. "He destroyed this base just   
to get a carrier craft!" Swearing under his breath, he ran towards a   
truck parked nearby, determined to have that carrier shot down   
somehow.  
  
***  
  
MS Gundam Sorceress  
GDD-036  
  
STANDBY MODE  
Reactor Nominal  
  
DIAGNOSTIC MODE  
All Weapons Secured  
All Targeting Links Secured  
All Power Couplings Secured  
ALL SYSTEMS 100% OPERATIONAL  
  
Lina nodded in satifaction as the data scrolled down the   
screen. The damage to the optics was so minor that the systems didn't   
notice it. While weaker then the Gundamium alloys that made up the   
rest of the armour, the optic coverings were still superior to the   
armour and weapons of Alliance Suits. Lina wasn't sure how her   
Grandmother had made it, only that it was as strong as hoped.  
  
Shutting down the screens, Lina climbed out of the Gundams   
cockpit and made her way to the front of the plane. The autopilot was   
keeping her on the flight path she had entered, one that would avoid   
the maior groupings of Alliance forces. Checking the availible data   
again to make certain that there were no changes, Lina decided to pop   
open that thermos of coffee she'd made up before the battle.  
  
***  
  
Brianna turned her attention away from the main monitor,   
satisfied with what she had seen and heard. Although Lina did have   
some difficulties with that battle, she learnt fast, and the woman   
was confident that the next battle would have fewer problems.  
  
Turning to another monitor, she opened a file containing   
diagrams and blueprints of the Gundam Sorceress. "If there are any   
flaws in my design that I've missed, they'll become apparant soon   
enough," she said quietly, a slightly worried tone in her voice.   
"Lina should be able to handle it. I just hope my work was of the   
level needed."  
  
Double-clicking on a button at the bottom of the page, the   
blueprints changed, now showing another Mobile Suit. This was   
slightly smaller then the Sorceress, but this was offset by the   
large, angel-like wings mounted on its back. Underneath the plans were the words;  
  
MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM ANGELUS  
GDD-039  
  
"Estimated time of construction, two more months," she said   
quietly. "I could speed it up, but training its pilot is taking the   
most time. But still, the real delay is a supply of Gundamium." She   
stared at the plans for a moment, then spoke again. "Ruri!"  
  
"Online," a bored sounding voice said, a sub-monitor displaying   
the image of a twelve-year old girl, silvery-blue hair pulled back   
into twin ponytails.  
  
"Display all vaccum production facilities capable of producing   
Gundamium alloys."  
  
"Checking data files now," Ruri replied, glancing at a monitor   
next to her, which sprang to life with a list of facilities, co-  
ordinates, production abilities and people Bri' could use to obtain   
Gundamium. "Judging by the number of people you have in facilites   
throughout the colonies and their abilities in obtaining Gundamium,   
it's unlikely that you will be able to obtain the alloys at a faster   
rate."  
  
Brianna grinned. "Not if we use the normal approach. Find out   
how much security there is at stations producing Gundamium. I want to   
know if I can just swipe it."  
  
Ruri raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. "You're the boss. I'll   
see what I can find." Ruri flashed out of appearance, off to carry   
out her task, and Bri' decided to go get a drink.  
  
"I really wish that Ruri would actually show some emotions,"   
she muttered as she pulled a can of Mountain Dew out of the fridge.   
"I designed her to have them after all. Instead, she always seems...   
bored." She smiled, downed the Dew and tossed the can in the bin,   
before leaving the cafeteria and heading for the hanger. "Oh well,   
she's never had much of a problem with it."  
  
Entering an access code into the keypad next to the hanger   
doors, Bri' stepped inside, making her way past a number of vehicles   
and Mobile Suits of various designs, some conventional, some not.  
  
She came to a stop in front of two Mobile Suits, one of which   
was still under construction. The one on the left was the Angelus,   
although there were a number of parts still being built. Most of the   
chest and head were covered in Gundamium alloys, but large parts of   
the limbs and wings were still uncovered, exposing the mechanical   
insides of the Mobile Suit. Resting in a special mount on the wall   
was the Angelus' main weapon, a massive halberd made of Gundamium, an   
energy cannon in the shaft.  
  
To the right of the Angelus was a Suit that seemed similar in   
appearance to both Gundams that Bri' designed. Mounted on each arm   
was a retactable blade, almost identical to the sword carried by 06.   
Folded away on the Suits back, on each side of the thrusters, were   
two energy cannons, larger versions of the energy weapons in the   
Sorceress and Angelus. Engraved on the Suits left shoulderpad were   
the words:  
  
MOBILE SUIT RAGNAROCK  
GDD-035  
  
The prototype for the Gundams, the Ragnarock was not coated in   
Gundamium alloys. However, it was installed with a number of   
experimental systems not yet in the Sorceress or Angelus which, in   
theory, made it equal to the Gundams.  
  
Climbing up a ladder to the Ragnarocks cockpit, Brianna sat in   
the pilots seat and began opening status displays, her attention   
focused on the latest test run of the Mobile Suit.  
  
***  
  
On Earth, the Alliance, Oz and Romafeller, tried to find a way   
to defeat the Gundams. The reports of Colonel Talbot were noted by   
all three organisations, with a number of potential weaknesses of   
Gundam Zero-Six crossed off the list.   
  
In the Pacific Ocean, Gundam Zero-One, also known as Wing, lay   
on the sea bed, it's pilot forced to eject when the suit had landed   
in the water. A task force of Specials sent to capture the Suit were   
all destroyed. Although the source was not known, it was believed to   
be Gundam Zero-Two, the Deathscythe.  
  
Elsewhere, the Gundam Heavy Arms, Zero-Three, began making its   
way towards the ESA's main Mobile Suit factory. In the Middle East,   
the United Arab Nations were aided in their defense against Alliance   
forces at their borders with the arrival of Gundam Zero-Four, the   
Sandrock. And in Africa, the Sheng Long, Gundam Zero-Five, targeted   
the many Mobile Suit factories found on that continent.  
  
The Gundams had their enemies off-balance, and were moving in   
with a followup attack. But the question was, how long would this   
last?  
  
***  
  
End Part Two  
  
*** 


	3. Part Three

Matrix Dragon Presents....  
  
Gundam Sorceress  
Part Three  
  
All characters belong to their owners and/or creators. If that   
person isn't me, I'm using them without permission and apologise if   
you are offended. There, how's that for a copyright?  
  
***  
  
Tracking the Mobile Suit Carrier aircraft stolen by Gundam 06   
was rather easy. The Alliance knew that it had been stolen from a   
certain hanger on the Echuca base, and it only took a few seconds to   
look up the stolen carriers transponder number. From there, the   
aircraft was detected by satelites in less then a minute.  
  
The hard part was deciding what to do. After all, there was a   
Gundam on that plane, one that had already destroyed two different   
bases and withstood everything those bases defenders could throw at   
it. Anything sent to shoot down that Carrier wouldn't stand a chance   
against the Mobile Suit inside.  
  
It was after almost three hours of debate that the answer was   
finally made. Several squadrons of Aries Suits would shoot down the   
aircraft from maximum range, then retreat as fast as they could,   
avoiding the Gundam at all costs.  
  
It wasn't foolproof by any measure of the word, and more then   
one pilot launched thinking of it as a suicide mission.  
  
After about half an hour of flight, the Aries suits spotted the   
Carrier. As expected, it was continuing on it's path towards the   
western coast of Australia, seemingly ignoring the Aries. That wasn't   
surprising, as the Carrier was an older model used by the Alliance's   
conventional army, and as such, lacked a powerful radar.  
  
Quickly and cleanly, several Aries armed the missiles mounted   
on their manuvering wings, locked onto the carrier and launched. The   
bulky aircraft made no efforts to dodge, and the missiles plowed into   
the cockpit and engines, detonating in a spectatular fireball.  
  
As the carrier plunged to the ground far below, the Aries   
pulled away with their turbines pushed to the redlines. They had no   
intention of picking a fight with 06.  
  
"Maybe we got lucky and the Gundam pilot was in the carriers   
cockpit," one of the Aries pilots commented.  
  
"I doubt we'd be so lucky," another one replied. "That Gundam   
will probably tear its way out of that wreck any second now."  
  
"Which is why we're getting the hell out of here," the   
commander replied. "Keep your throttles at the limit people, I don't   
want that beast to even have a chance to catch us."  
  
"Look!" the first pilot screamed. "There it is!"  
  
Sure enough, a giant sword cut through the Carriers hull,   
followed by a pair of hands reaching through the gash and pulling the   
metal apart like paper. Several of the Aries zoomed their cameras in,   
just in time to see a pair of bright green eyes begin glowing   
dangerously. "Ohhh shit," one of the pilots muttered.  
  
Thrusters firing, the Sorceress leapt from the dying aircraft   
and chased after the fleeing Aries. In the cockpit, Lina Diggers was   
swearing softly. She'd been halfway through her coffee when the Suits   
sensors had detected the airborne Mobile Suits, and she wanted   
payback.  
  
"IFF codes.... confirmed as Specials units," she said with a   
feral grin. "At least I get some Oz goons to waste." Arming her Head   
Vulcans, she began targeting.  
  
"It's locking on, evasive manuvers!" the commander ordered as   
alarms began wailing around him. Almost instantly, the Aries broke   
formation and scattered. One was too slow and took several hits as   
Lina opened fire. Two turbines destroyed, it fell towards the ground   
helplessly.  
  
Lina ignored it, powering up her arm cannons and firing. Laser   
pulses flew in two directions, punching through the armour of several   
more Aries and causing them to detonate in midair. While she did this   
she was still chasing after the largest group. She knew that some of   
them would escape from her this time, but at least Oz would lose a   
few soldiers. Besides, this was good practise in midair combat.  
  
The Sorceress easily caught up to one of the Aries and rammed   
its sword through one of the turbines. Out of control, it slammed   
into the desert sands below at high speed while Lina fired on another   
with her Head Vulcans.  
  
***  
  
Captain James Ritter stepped out of the communications tent,   
looking over the campsite where the survivors of the Echuca battle   
were regrouping. The Specials officer made his way through the area,   
heading towards the temporary command center.  
  
Stepping inside, he saw the expected sight of David Talbot,   
Ritters commanding officer, handling the area of work that he   
excelled at. Following the almost-total destruction of the Echuca   
base, Talbot was the highest ranking survivor. As such, he had sent   
rescue crews into ground zero, complied the death toll, spoken   
with regional and national commanders, pushing himself beyond his   
limits. What made things worse was that he did it with a broken arm,   
three shattered ribs and countless other injuries, without resting   
from the battle that gave him those injuries.  
  
He was quite a sight, in a scorched Alliance Army duty uniform,   
left arm in a sling (he hadn't given medics time to put the arm in   
plaster, and a days worth of growth on his face. Despite the news he   
brought, Ritter had to smile at the sight. He knew, from years of   
close contact with this man, that Talbot was one of the most   
determined and loyal soldiers he had ever had the honor of meeting,   
let alone serving under. It was a shame that he wasn't a member of   
Oz, but Ritter knew that the Colonel could never imagine betraying   
the Alliance, even when it betrayed itself.  
  
David turned his attention away from the damage reports that   
were spread out in front of him. "What's up?" he asked.  
  
"I just recieved word from the western coast," Ritter replied.   
"The Gundams Carrier was shot down just over the Western Australia   
state line."  
  
"Casulties?" Talbot asked.  
  
"Only three Aries Suits managed to escape, and they've   
detected distress beacons from two pilots that managed to eject."  
  
David sighed sadly. "Five survivors out of sixteen Suits. What   
power."  
  
"At least they managed to slow that monster down," Ritter said.   
"Their deaths may buy the Alliance time to gather the forces needed   
to destroy it."  
  
The Colonel closed his eyes for a moment. "I have to wonder if   
all the Mobile Suits on this continent will stop it. I self-detonated   
my Suit at point blank range, and it barely scratched the outer   
armour." He opened his eyes and stared at map of Australia he had   
recovered. "There has to be some way to determine the pilots   
mission."  
  
"Isn't it obvious? From what I've heard, all the Gundams are   
targeting Alliance bases randomly. They want to cause as much damage   
as possible."  
  
Talbot shook his head. "No, if it was attacking randomly, then   
why us? There were plenty of bases where it could have done more   
damage, but Echuca had more Suit Carriers then any other base in the   
region. That's why it came here. To get itself transport to the other   
side of Australia. It's next target is something valuable over   
there."  
  
"But what?" Ritter asked.  
  
"No idea. I don't know what we've got over there. But if   
someone can figure it out, maybe we can find a way to stop it."  
  
***  
  
Deep in space, Brianna Diggers was doing was she did best.   
Wearing old coveralls, she was half buried in Angelus's side,   
performing modifications on the Gundams motor relays. In the   
background, an old cd of Live played on the Suits external speakers.   
"This is not helping me at all, where did we get this plan? That you   
could give to me what I might already have...." Bri' sang softly, her   
attention not really on the music, until it cut out without warning.   
"Hey, what gives?"  
  
"I have aquired details of security at all Gundamium production   
facilities," Ruri declared, her virtual face appearing on a screen in   
the cockpit of the Angelus.  
  
"What took you so long?" Bri' asked, pulling herself up into   
the cockpit. "And what was so important that you'd interupt my   
music?"  
  
"As a precautionary measure, I also made copies of production   
schedules at the factory satelites. While doing so, I came across a   
number of errors in their logs. Someone else has been stealing   
Gundamium." As was her way, Ruri stated such important information as   
though it was nothing whatsoever.  
  
"Are you sure?" the woman asked. Ruri simply nodded, and   
another window sprang into existance, showing production orders,   
timetables and shipping schedules. Glancing over the data in front of   
her, Brianna soon saw it. There was Gundamium produced that simply   
vanished, or shipments of Gundamium that was never actually produced.   
  
"Throughout all the Gundamium factories in space, there are   
very few errors like this. We can assume that there are others that   
have been completely deleted, but some of them were missed," Ruri   
said.  
  
"For the amount of errors you found, there has to be countless   
others that were properly erased," Bri' replied. "Whoever did this   
would have quite a supply of Gundamium. Enough to build a number of   
Mobile Suits."  
  
"The other Gundams," Ruri surmised. Bri simply nodded in reply.   
"Of the shipments I did locate, they appeared to be to facilities and   
warehouses owned by the Barton Foundation."  
  
Brianna Digger's eyes widened. "Barton? Those bastards?"  
  
"Placing your personal opinions to the side," Ruri said, "the   
Barton Foundation has the facilities to build the other Gundams and   
send them to Earth. Why they would do so is unknown."  
  
"I can guess," Brianna muttered. "I know the head of the   
Foundation, Deakin Barton. He's a power-hungry monster. If he's   
behind the Gundams, then we can bet that they're the enemy."  
  
"I wasn't aware that you knew Mr. Barton personally." Despite   
such interesting news, Ruri still looked and sounded bored as she   
wondered about her creators past.  
  
"It was a long time ago," Bri' said softly, "long before I   
created you. Soon after I arrived in the Colonies. You don't need to   
know the details." She shook her head, returning her attention to the   
subject at hand. "See if you can track down where those shipments   
went. If the Barton Foundation had anything to do with those Gundams,   
then we have to find a way to deal with them. Download the security   
files to the main computer. I'll check over them later."  
  
"Understood," Ruri replied, closing her window. Bri' stared at   
the empty space for a moment, then stood up and climbed out of the   
cockpit, back towards the open panel.  
  
As she picked up the laser welder, Bri' stopped and looked up   
at the Angelus. "I developed the Gundams to fight Oz. If Barton is   
behind these other Gundams, what's his target?"  
  
Whatever the answer was, the Angelus wasn't telling. Her mind   
occupied by thoughts of the man known as Deakin Barton, Bri' began   
working on that motor relay again.  
  
***  
  
Lina's first target was a rent-a-car shop on the outskirts of   
the city of Perth. Their ads stated that they also hired out   
motorcycles, which was perfect for her needs. From there, it was a   
short trip to the test facility, about sixty kilometres east of   
Perth.  
  
Metallium Base was larger then the Echuca base that Lina had   
attacked just over a day before. Defenses were much stronger, with a   
higher percentage of troops made up of Specials units, which was an   
advantage in Lina's opinion. After all, they were her real target.  
  
Studying the countryside from a distance, Lina saw almost   
instantly just how strong the defenses were. Even in peroids of   
relative calm, it seemed that there was a large number of Mobile   
Suits patrolling the area, with Leos on the ground and Aries in the   
sky above. The Gundam pilot didn't doubt that the prototype Suits,   
the improved Aries and these new Tauros models, would also form part   
of the defense if needed.  
  
Pulling a digital camera out of her backpack, she began taking   
pictures of important locations around the base. When she got back to   
the Sorceress, she'd compare them with satelite photos in order to   
properly plan her attack. Taking a few shots of the hangers, she   
paused and lowered the camera for a moment.  
  
Eyes narrowed, she raised the camera and zoomed in. Sure   
enough, there were a number of access panels built into the ground.   
She   
considered it for a moment, then nodded.   
  
***  
  
Zechs Marquis looked over the report sent to him by Captain   
Ritter regarding the attack on the Echuca base. The opinion of   
Colonel Talbot matched his own, the Lightning Count thought to   
himself. Placing the fax to the side for a moment, he turned his   
attention to his laptop, opening a file with a list of all bases hit   
by the Gundams. "Zero-Six has to have a target in Western Australia.   
And if all the Suits are working together, then there may be a   
connection between their attacks," he said to himself. He stopped at   
one name, and his eyes narrowed behind his mask. "The Tauros   
production factory, attacked by Zero-Five eight hours ago." A smile   
formed on his face. "And if I remember correctly, they were   
undergoing testing at the Metallium base in Western Australia. That   
base will most likely be a target."  
  
Picking up the phone, he made several calls, looking up   
information on the Tauros Suits. The Suits had only finished final   
testing a week ago, and the Alliance, with the eager urging of   
Romafeller, began production of the advanced Suits almost instantly.   
By the time 05 destroyed the factory, about a dozen Tauros Space   
Mobile Suits had been shipped to the Lake Victoria base. As for the   
squadron of prototypes, they remained at Metallium, although it was   
possible that the current shortage of the new Suits could see them   
shipped to Lake Victoria for use by the Specials Space Force.  
  
But right now, it seemed that the currently rare suits were   
directly in front of a Gundam. Zechs had no doubts about the power of   
the Tauros Mobile Suits. He knew that they were far superior to the   
Leos and Aries commonly used by the Alliance and Oz. But the fact   
was, they didn't stand a chance against the Gundam. The extra   
firepower of the Metallium base might give the defenders a chance,   
but Zechs wouldn't put any bets on them winning. Still, he had to at   
least warn them and provide that chance.  
  
***  
  
Unknown to Zechs, the Gundam pilot was already in the test   
facility, crawling through an airduct in the main building. "How the   
hell did I let you talk me into this? It's the oldest trick in the   
book," Lina muttered into her throat-mike as she pushed herself along   
on her hands and knees.  
  
"I've taken care of the security, making this the best route   
into the base," Ruri replied over the link. "The fact that it is old   
makes no difference."  
  
On Asteroid 1738-D, Brianna smirked as she listened to the   
pair, Lina annoyed and grumpy, Ruri calm and bored. "Okay, that's   
enough of that. Ruri, have you taken care of those security cameras   
yet?"  
  
"Ten more seconds," Ruri commented, her virtual face looking   
like it was about to yawn. Bri nodded and studied the map that Ruri   
had managed to get of the central section of the base. The fact that   
security on the complete plans was so tight that even the only known   
CI in existance wasn't able to get it only increased the older womans   
fears of the situation.  
  
"Okay Lina, take a left at the next corner, then keep going   
forward," she told her grandaughter. "You should find a storeroom at   
the end of the vent. Cameras show it to be empty."  
  
"Great," Lina replied. "I can't wait to get out of here." Hands   
pressed against the sides of the duct, she pulled herself around the   
T-intersection. Sure enough, she could see the end of the vent   
several dozen metres ahead. Glad to be almost out of the tunnels, she   
picked up the pace slightly. A few moments later, she was fiddling   
with the grille, managing to undo the locks holding it in place.   
she thought to herself as she climbed out of   
the hole in the wall.   
  
As she closed the vent, Lina took the time for a quick look   
around. Sure enough, the storeroom was filled with shelves and crates   
holding all sorts of the interesting goodies one finds on a military   
base. Lina was reminded of that military surplus shop back on her   
home colony. All that was missing was the former Alliance pilot that   
ran the place.  
  
With that memory in her head, Lina stepped out into the   
hallway and started following the directions Bri' was giving her. No   
one paid any attention to her, which wasn't that surprising,   
considering that she was wearing a Specials uniform, her blond hair   
covering her cat-like ears and a pair of glasses finishing the look.   
Anyone out at this time of night (11pm for those curious) just wrote   
her off as some pilot or officer they hadn't met before. This base   
had a million of them.  
  
After a few minutes walking, Lina came across her target, the   
base commanders office. Ruri confirmed that it was empty, and the   
Gundam pilot simply walked in. Dropping herself into the commanders   
chair, she attached a sub-space communicator to the computer on the   
desk. "Okay Ruri, knock yourself out," she said.  
  
The communicator beeped twice, and Ruri's face appeared on the   
monitor. "I've accessed the system under the commanders login name,"  
she said. "'I've also granted you access."  
  
"Great," Lina replied, cracking her knuckles. "You find the   
base plans, I'll look around. Set a few traps while you're at it."  
  
"Of course," Ruri finished, her face vanishing. Lina began   
exploring the limits of the account she was currently in, finding all   
sorts of goodies. Schedules, blueprints, assorted lists, including   
reports on all Suits, tanks and other war machines on the base. Lina   
was in the middle of uploading the Tauros plans to 1738-D when her   
grandmother spoke up, her image appearing in Lina's glasses.  
  
"Guys, I'm picking up a communication being sent to Metallium   
via a comm satelite," she said. "Lieutenant Zechs Marquis, Specials   
officer overseeing the Gundam situation, believes that Gundam Zero-  
Six is planning to attack that base. That's you, in case you hadn't   
guessed."  
  
Lina's eyebrows raised. "How'd he guess that?" she demanded.  
  
Bri' shrugged, looking over the information she had. "I have no   
idea. You didn't head right for it, there are plenty of other   
potential targets on Australias west coast, and it's not like the   
other Gundams could give you away."  
  
"Maybe they can," Lina replied. "Did they attack anything   
connected to this base?"  
  
"Just a second," Bri' replied, bringing up a list of locations   
attacked by the Gundams. "Bingo. Gundam Zero-Five attacked a factory   
that had been refitted for Tauros construction."  
  
"And this Zechs guy thinks that the Gundams are working   
together," Lina said with a sour expression on her face. "I don't   
believe this. Murphy's Law really kicked us this time."  
  
"We'll talk about it later," Bri' said. "The commander's been   
awakened, and the base is about to go on alert. Abort mission and get   
out of there!"  
  
"Right. Ruri, grab what you can and log off," Lina said,   
finishing with the Tauro blueprints.  
  
"I've uploaded copies of the facilities plans to 1738-D," Ruri   
said calmly before returning to deep space herself. Lina pulled the   
uplink off the computer, logged out and left the office. Seemingly   
calm, she began retracing her steps towards the storeroom.  
  
As she walked through the corridors, she noticed a number of   
soldiers, mostly Suit pilots, were heading for the hangers. She   
considered this for a moment, then grinned as an idea formed in her   
mind. "Bri', I've got an idea," she whispered when she was alone   
again. "These guys are expecting a Gundam..."  
  
"If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, then I like   
it," Bri' replied with a grin.  
  
"They will tighten their defenses against Mobile Suits, not   
against one lone infiltrator already inside the base," Ruri   
concluded.  
  
"Five points to the cybernetic intelligence," Lina said. "See   
if you can find where the Mobile Suits are stored, as well as the   
bases power plant."  
  
"Already underway," Ruri said.  
  
"I'm going to see if there's a way to sabotage the Tauros   
Suits," Bri' added, printing out the blueprints and spreading them   
out on a bench.  
  
***  
  
As Lina had hoped, the base was not on full alert. There were   
extra Mobile Suits guarding the perimeter, but the majority of them   
were still in their hangers, ready to launch at a moments notice.  
  
Lina simply walked in, making her way to the fuel tanks at the   
back of the hanger. "I still can't get over the fact that the   
Alliance relys on primitive combustion engines for their Leos and   
Aries," she commented as she attached an explosive to the underside   
of the tank.  
  
"Not their fault they have poor engineers," Bri' replied,   
checking the base plans. "That should cripple most of the Leos and   
prevent the others from launching. What about the Aries?"  
  
"I'd say the fuel tanks again," Lina mumured as she left the   
hanger. "There'd be a lot more gas in those hangers. Much nicer   
explosion."  
  
"Just be careful," Bri' said. "You're not invincible remember?"  
  
"I know," Lina smirked. "That's your job."  
  
Bri shook her head in mock disgust. "Just get on with the   
mission."  
  
Lina looked up at the moon. "By the way, did you find a way to   
take out the Tauros Suits?"  
  
"Not all of them. You'd need to set explosives on the Suits   
themselves, and that'd be noticed in an instant. But half the   
prototypes have been equiped with some sort of remote control system   
called Mobile Dolls. The system's still being tested, but the basic   
features work. Movement, weapons useage, basic combat skills," she   
grinned, "and the Self-detonation system."  
  
"Searching for Doll control channel," Ruri declared, following   
her creators line of thought. Lina grined as she made her way towards   
the Aries hangers. As she approached, she could see several Suits   
making their way out of the hanger and towards the runway.  
  
"Those are extra air patrols," Bri' reported. "Satelites are   
recording increased air presence. Mobile Suits and conventional   
vehicles."  
  
"What about on the ground?" Lina mumbled.  
  
"I'm not certain," the older woman replied, adjusting the image   
on the monitor in front of her. "It looks like most of the ground   
vehicles are still being prepped for launch. No matter what the   
result is there, you'll still have a harder time escaping."  
  
"Not to mention actually getting to the Sorceress," the pilot   
concluded. She wandered past an Aries that was stomping towards the   
runway, entering the Aries hanger through the main doors. As was to   
be expected, the ground crew and pilots that were running back an   
forth ignored her. Just like the other hangers, she made her way   
towards the fuel tanks - she wondered yet again -   
casually checking to make certain no one was watching her.  
  
As she reached the fuel tanks, her left hand twitched slightly,   
and a small wad of plastic explosive appeared out of nowhere. "Gotta   
love subspace technology," she mumured to herself as she walked   
behind the tank, out of sight from the rest of the hanger. Reaching   
up, she clamped the bomb into place.  
  
"What're you doing?" a voice said out of nowhere. Lina turned   
to see several pilots standing there, wearing the uniforms of the   
conventional Alliance Air Force. "I don't think I've seen you   
before," one of them said, but his voice trailed off as he saw Linas   
hand, still resting on the explosive. His eyes widened and he went   
for his sidearm.  
  
The first two soldiers never knew what hit them. Linas Gyrojet   
pistol was in her hand in an instant, and the micro-rocket rounds   
destroyed the pairs torsos with only two shots. By that time, the   
rest of the squad was moving, but so was the Gundam pilot, moving   
faster then almost any human should have been able to. Her next   
target had a palm slammed into his nose at high speed, driving it   
back into his face with a sickening crunch. He dropped to the ground,   
dead or out cold, it didn't matter.  
  
Ducking and weaving, Lina took the entire group down while   
everyone else in the hanger was still recovering from the surprise of   
sudden gunfire cutting through the normal working noise. As the last   
man fell, the young woman saw a number of other armed soldiers,   
regular Alliance and Specials, already moving and taking aim. She   
broke into a sprint for a number of crates, pistol blazing. As she   
leapt behind the crates, the ground behind her began sparking with   
machine gun fire.  
  
"This isn't good," she growled as she changed clips on her   
pistol. Just above her head, several bullets punched holes through   
the crates, sending splinters everywhere. Over the familar noise of   
gunfire, an alarm began to wail with a high pitched scream that set   
Lina's teeth on edge.  
  
"It gets worse," Bri' replied, wishing she was down there to   
help. "That alarm's going off all over the base. Security teams are   
being sent to your current location!"  
  
Lina swore, leaning out from behind the crates and firing off a   
few shots. Two of her targets, a pilot and an engineer, dropped to   
the ground, the engie screaming in pain. She ducked back under cover,   
and her left hand twitched again. This time, a small remote control   
appeared in it. "Let's give them something else to worry about. Ruri,   
have you found the Doll control channel yet?"  
  
"Doll system is completely under our control," Ruri replied,   
and Lina half suspected there was a tiny trace of pride in her voice.   
"The base command has not yet activated them. What should I do?"  
  
"Nothing yet," the Gundam pilot replied. "Until I give the   
signal, let the base do whatever they want with them." She flinched   
as a bullet smashed through the crate close to her, a splinter   
cutting her ear slightly. "For now, just the Leos will do." She   
pressed buttons one through five on the remote, then pressed the   
larger red button at the bottom.  
  
Lina heard the explosions clearly, even over the sound of   
gunfire. The gunfire around her slowed, as a number of her opponents   
wondered what the noise was, and feared it was a larger attack. Lina   
took full advantage of the distraction, and broke into a sprint,   
dashing out from behind the crates, heading for her next target. As   
several of the soldiers recovered and started firing, Lina ducked   
behind the bulk of an Aries suit and jumped up to its cockpit in one   
smooth leap. She closed the hatch behind her, strapped in and began   
powering up the systems.   
  
With a familar whine, the Aries turbines began spinning, as   
Lina turned the Suit to face the hanger doors, which had sealed shut   
at the first sounding of the intruder alarm. Raising the Suits   
gunpod, she fired off a short burst that blew the doors off their   
hinges, before turning and blasting a number of other Aries in the   
hanger.  
  
"Time to go," she muttered, slamming the throttle forward, and   
the Aries shot out of the hanger, already starting to lift off the   
ground. Lina glanced behind her, spotting a number of Leos that had   
escaped the explosions beginning to target her. Quickly, she began to   
climb towards the clouds, leaving the base far behind her. Missiles   
and bullets raced after her, but she sent the Aries into evasive   
manuvers, avoiding most of the damage, only getting minor damage on   
some of the armour plating, although she had half-emtied her gunpod   
taking out the missiles.  
  
As she set a course for the Sorceress, the Aries radar went   
nuts. One glance at the screen told Lina everything she needed to   
know. "The Tauros Suits. Just great. Ruri, activate the Sorceress."  
  
"Contact with Sorceress confirmed. System startup commencing,"   
Ruri reported through Lina's earpiece.  
  
In space, Bri' ran through several calculations in her head.   
"Lina, even with that Aries and the Sorceress at top speed, those   
Tauros Suits will catch up to you first."  
  
"I know, I know," Lina replied. The Aries spun on the spot,   
launching its two wing missiles at the Tauros Suits, barely visible   
in the distance. She knew that the Oz pilots would shoot down the   
missles long before they came anywhere near them, but it would keep   
their attention. "I think you'll have to start praying."  
  
***  
  
"Commander, the stolen Aries is decending. I think it's going   
to land," one of the pilots reported. The twelve Tauros Suits, all of   
them in flight mode, adjusted their course slightly to intercept the   
craft. As was to be expected, the two missiles had been shot down   
before they were even three kilometres away.  
  
"The target must have ground transport nearby," the commander   
concluded. "Infrared scannes on full, try and locate any ground   
vehicles. Destroy them as soon as you have a target, but the General   
wants that infiltrator alive."  
  
Far below, the Aries Suit slammed into a paddock, carving a   
small trench in the hard dirt below it. Turning, it raised its gunpod   
and fired off a long burst. At the same time, Lina removed her   
restraints and opened the cockpit. While the Tauros Suits easily   
dodged the poorly aimed gunfire, their menacing black forms bluring   
across the night sky, she leapt out of the Suit. As she hit the   
ground she started running, kicking up a large trail of dust behind   
her.  
  
"Sir, the Aries seems to have gone dead. I think the pilot's   
abandoned ship."  
  
"Scanners are detecting movement away from the Suit," the   
commander replied. "Speed approximately eighty kilometres per hour.   
Too small to be a car, probably a motorcycle of some sort. Transform   
to Battloid mode and intercept."  
  
The lead Tauros began to twist, limbs unfolding from their   
resting places, wings sliding across the upper sections before   
locking into place. The gunpod dropped into its waiting hands, and   
the slit on its head opened, revealing the single optic common in all   
Alliance Suits. Fully transformed, the Tauros dropped towards the   
ground, coming to a halt several metres above and to the side of the   
Aries before racing after its small target. Behind it, the other   
eleven Suits tranformed and followed.  
  
Catching up to their target was easy. Despite the incredible   
speed that Lina was moving at, the Tauros Suits were capable of   
moving much faster. What they lacked was manuvering ability. Lina was   
ducking and weaving, pulling much tighter turns that the Tauros Suits   
could not match.   
  
It took over a minute of hunting before any of the OZ pilots   
actually got a good look at their target. "Commander, is she on   
foot?" One of them asked.  
  
"It would seem so Ensign," the commander replied, firing a shot   
in front of Lina. The girl actually backfliped, running back at the   
Tauros Suits for a moment before pulling a ninety-degree turn and   
running in another direction.  
  
"But that's not possible!"  
  
"Possible or not, she's doing it. Worry about it later. For   
now, just capture her alive. That bitch has a lot to answer for."  
  
Lina could feel the blasts before they came, their intense heat   
signaling their approach. She continued to duck and weave, the blasts   
missing her by only a few metres. But she couldn't keep it up. Soon,   
one shot came too close, the edge of the blast knocking her off her   
feet and sending her rolling across the ground. When she came to a   
halt, she winced at the pain coming from her right arm. Her coat   
sleeve had been burnt off, and there were a number of small burns   
along her upper arm.  
  
"Ignore the pain Lina, it'll heal," Bri' yelled over the link.  
  
"Oh, that's easy for you to say," she growled, rising to her   
feet. She watched as the twelve Suits landed in front of her. "I   
guess they want me alive. I guess that I should have stayed in the   
Aries."  
  
"With the superior abilities of the Tauros, they would have   
crippled the Aries with no difficulty," Ruri pointed out. "On foot   
you had a much greater chance."  
  
"Well, thank you for your insight," she muttered. "But what the   
hell am I meant to do now?"  
  
"Give me a second," Bri' replied, working at a console. "Ruri,   
follow my path."  
  
"I don't have a second," Lina said as one of the Suits reached   
for her.  
  
At that moment, one of the strangest things she had seen in   
quite a while took place. One of the Tauros Suits suddenly raised its   
gunpod and fired a single shot, the laser pulse punching through the   
shoulder of another Suit. Instantly the rest of the squadron broke,   
moving away from Lina in reaction. The Gundam pilot took the chance   
to run for cover, heading away from the enemy Suits.  
  
"Shanchez, what the hell was that?" the commander growled.  
  
"I don't know!" she replied, fighting her controls. "It just   
went nuts! It's coming back under control now."  
  
"Why the hell would that happ- the bomber!" the commander   
yelled, bringing up his scanners. There was no movement at all the   
size of a human. Only the other eleven Suits were out there.  
  
Hidden in a nearby irrigation channel, Lina watched as the   
Tauros Suits began to fan out, searching for her. "Grandma, Ruri, how   
long until the Sorceress arrives?"  
  
"Two minutes," Ruri replied calmly. "It will arrive within   
range of the Tauros scanners in thirty seconds. I have assumed direct   
control of the Suit."  
  
The woman nodded, a tight smile on her face. "Thanks Ruri. I   
owe you one." She felt the tremors through the ground as one of the   
Suits moved towards her. Even though she knew it made no difference,   
she froze, even holding her breath. If they saw her before they   
detected the Sorceress...  
  
***  
  
Bri' could only watch the screens and listen as the Tauros   
Suits continued to search for their prey. On a smaller screen, the   
course of Gundam Sorceress was shown as it approached its targets.  
  
"Five, four, three, two, one." At that moment the Sorceress   
passed into the sensor range of the Oz pilots. It should take a few   
more seconds before the pilots noticed the new arrival.  
  
Then, as expected, a number of the Tauros Suits broke away from   
the search for Lina, moving to intercept the Gundam, not suspecting   
its true nature. The Suit closest to Lina was one of those that moved   
towards the Gundam, and Bri' grinned as she watched. "Okay Lina,   
they're leaving you."  
  
Far below, Lina nodded as she watched the closest Tauros fire   
its thrusters, taking to the air. "Now I've got to wait. I hate   
waiting," she commented.  
  
Eight of the Tauros Suits flew towards the Sorceress, while the   
remaining four, including the damaged one, continued their search for   
Lina. Those Suits on the ground spread out, motion scanners and   
infrared looking for her.  
  
High above, the squadron commander swore as his new target came   
into view. The shape, the colour, the way that a number of scanning   
systems refused to sense it, it could only be one thing. "Gundam   
Zero-Six," he growled. "All Suits break formation, try and surround   
it. Keep moving, don't let it target you!"  
  
Deep within the circuits of the Sorceress, the electrical form   
of Ruri almost seemed to smile, watching the Tauros duck and weave   
around her. Ignoring the bursts from their laser rifles, she charged   
right through, not even bothering to fire back at them. At the speed   
she was moving, very few shots actually hit her, and those that did   
glanced off the Gundamium alloys that made up its armor.  
  
"Ground units, the Gundam is moving towards you. Break away and   
attack with ranged fire," the commander ordered. On the ground, the   
four Tauros Suits fired their thrusters, arcing in different   
directions.   
  
"Ruri, watch yourself," Lina muttered.  
  
"Situation is under control," the CI replied calmly. The   
Sorceress changed course slightly, and began to drop towards the   
ground. One of the Tauros Suits was blocking her path. Ruri smirked,   
raised her left arm and fired. The Oz Suit tried to dodge, but Ruri's   
reaction time was incredibly fast, and she easily adjusted her aim,   
punching through the shoulder and chest of the Tauros. Its power   
plant detonated as it fell towards the ground.  
  
The moment Ruri hit the ground, Lina was up and running,   
heading for the Mobile Suit Gundam. Armored plates on the chest   
folded out of the way, revealing the cockpit. Bouncing off the knee   
joint, she landed on one of the plates and stepped inside. Dropping   
into the pilots seat and buckling in even as the hatch closed behind   
her, she ordered "Ruri, give me control."  
  
"The Sorceress is yours to command," Ruri replied, her electron   
essense launching itself back into space on a sub-space frequency.   
  
From above, the Tauros pilots watched as the Gundam rose to its   
feet, turning to face the Oz Suits. With the familar roar, its back   
thrusters fired and the Sorceress was in the air, sword in hand.  
  
Her first target was the only damaged Suit. It tried to   
manuver, but Lina compensated for the movement and rammed her blade   
through the enemy Suit until the hilt collided with the armoured   
plating. Then, in one swift move, she pulled the sword up, tearing   
right through its power core. As the explosion destroyed the Suit and   
its pilot, the Gundam spun in mid-air, head cannons firing at another   
Tauros, while the arm cannons engaged another two targets.  
  
Lina growled as the Tauros managed to duck and weave around the   
blasts. Not only were they faster then any Alliance/Oz Suits she'd   
ever faced, the pilots were incredibly skilled, perhaps the best   
she'd ever gone up against. "Good thing I've still got the   
advantage," she replied. She threw the Gundam into a tight turn,   
pushing her body forward, the restraints digging into her shoulders.  
  
There were now two very suprised Tauros Suits in front of the   
Sorceress. Before they knew what hit them, laser pulses punched   
through both cockpits. The Gundam changed course again, now heading   
backwards. It slammed an elbow into another Suit, before spinning in   
mid-air and slicing through the Tauros.  
  
In space, Brianna narrowed her eyes. "It's the new design   
that's causing her trouble. The Tauros pilots have battle reports on   
the Sorceress, but Lina hasn't even had time to look at the   
blueprints we stole."  
  
"She still has the technical and physical advantage," Ruri   
pointed out.  
  
"Doesn't mean I have to like this situation. Lina has to win   
every time just to stay even. They win once and it's all over."  
  
Lina didn't hear any of that, as she was busy ducking and   
weaving around the laser fire of the remaining seven Suits. The moves   
she was pulling kicked up enough G-forces to knock out any normal   
person. In fact, she used this to take out one of the Tauros Suits.   
She dove towards the ground, pulling up at the last second and   
heading right back where she came from, all ranged weapons firing.   
She flew right through the explosion as a thought occured to her.   
"Ruri, how many of the remaining Suits have the Doll system   
installed?"  
  
"Four of the remaining Suits."  
  
"Blow 'em," the pilot ordered. Outside, Lina saw three of the   
Suits begin to glow, their power cores starting to overload. After a   
few seconds, all of them went up in a number of fireballs. The Gundam   
dodged around the wreckage flying through the air, its pilot grinning   
as the remaining opponents tried to figure out why their squadmates   
exploded for no good reason. "Ruri, what happened to number four?"  
  
"He must have figured out the Doll system was activating the   
self-detonation device," Bri' replied, checking the Tauros   
blueprints. "It looks like the pilot has a manual override on the   
automated control systems."  
  
A sudden flashing on the main monitor caught the older womans   
attention. She glanced at it and scowled. "Lina, hurry it up. There's   
reinforcements of the way. At least five squadrons of Aries."  
  
"Shouldn't take too much longer," she replied, punching through   
the armour of a remaining Tauros, before firing the arm cannon and   
vaporising most of the Suit. "Two to go." One of those was close   
enough to be targeted with both arm cannons, wilting under a brief   
barrage before exploding.  
  
The last one tried to make a break for it, thrusters firing at   
full strength. Lina rammed her own thrusters to full power, easily   
catching up to her target, tackling it hard enough to send both Suits   
falling towards the ground. As they fell, Lina rammed her Suits blade   
through the cockpit and power core, before breaking away and leaving   
the Suit to burst into flames on the way down.  
  
Alone on the battlefield now, she considered her options. Laser   
charge at 75%, head cannons still mostly full, the Gundam was more   
then capable of going up against the approaching Aries squadrons. But   
not the pilot. It was nearly midnight, and she had spent the past few   
hours sneaking through a military base, then fighting off a new   
design of Mobile Suit. She was exhausted, and wanted nothing more   
then to curl up somewhere and sleep.  
  
And so, the Sorceress turned away from the approaching fighters   
and left, leaving behind nothing but the flames and wreckage of her   
foes.  
  
***  
  
The fires that had ravaged the Echuca base were finally out,   
allowing repair crews to save what buildings they could, while   
finishing the demolition of others. The damage was even more   
extensive then previously thought, with more then half the base in   
ruins. The Gundam had targeted hangers, weaponry and the command   
structures first, leaving the living area mostly intact. It had no   
real reason to destroy those.  
  
James Ritter found Colonel Talbot in the wreckage of the   
control tower, trying to activate some of the remaining consoles. "I   
just got word from the west coast," he said as his superior officer   
looked up from one control panel.  
  
"Has the Gundam reappeared yet?" David asked.  
  
Ritter nodded. "Someone, believed to be its primary pilot,   
infiltrated the Metallium test facility. They're still assessing the   
damage, but it appears that the bases computer network had been   
hacked into and heavily damaged, bombs were detonated in the hangers,   
and all of the prototype Tauros Suits were destroyed in combat with   
Zero-Six."  
  
"Damn it," Talbot muttered. "Did they get any images of the   
pilot?"  
  
"Nothing decent," Ritter replied. "There's almost nothing left   
of the Tauros Suits. But there are reports from survivors. They're   
still trying to put together an image of her from the descriptions   
given."  
  
"Wonderful, just wonderful. And the Gundam's hidden again?"   
When Ritter nodded, Talbot swore and kicked the control panel. "This   
bitch is really starting to piss me off."  
  
"Really? I'd never had noticed," Ritter joked, only to receive   
a glare in reply. "Sorry. Geez, no one around here as a sense of   
humor anymore. Look at it this way, at least knowing it's female cuts   
out about half of the population."  
  
Talbot glared at him again. "James, in the 192 census, the   
Earth Sphere Alliance, including the space colonies, had a population   
of approximately eight billion. That gives us about four billion   
women. Without some more details, we're still not going to find her."   
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Look, keep an eye out   
for any more details on the Gundams. Descriptions of the pilots,   
technical capabilities, anything you can find. And see if you can   
have work crews try and find the security camera footage from hanger   
Sixteen. That's where she stole the carrier from, maybe there's   
something we can use."  
  
The Captain shrugged. "Fires hit that area pretty bad, but I'll   
see what I can do." As Ritter left, David heard him mutter "how hard   
can it be to find a girl with a pet giant robot?" Shaking his head,   
he returned to his attempts to access the computer system, a wry grin   
on his face.  
  
***  
  
Lina examined the Oz uniform. While the pants could still be   
used, the shirt was a write off, with over half the right sleeve a   
burnt mess. As she considered that, she glanced down at her arm,   
which was smooth and unmarked. "Accelerated healing, gotta love it,"   
she commented, then bit back a massive yawn. "Look, The Gundam's   
hidden, we're a safe distance from the Alliance patrols, and I'm   
completely exhausted. I'm calling it a night."  
  
"Sleep well, you've more then earned it," Bri' replied, closing   
the connection. She leaned back in her chair, arms stretched above   
her head. "What a day."  
  
"You should get some sleep as well," Ruri suggested. "I will   
monitor the situation and wake you if anything happens."  
  
"Thanks Ruri," Bri' said, rising to her feet. "While you're at   
it, could you keep an eye on the Barton Foundation? If they're behind   
the other Gundams, there may be evidence. Let me know what you find   
when I wake up."  
  
"Understood. Good night." The CI watched her creator head for   
her bedroom, yawning all the way. Even as she did that, she set part   
of her mind the task of watching the Barton Foundation, and another   
part to the Alliance. The rest was focused on the Asteroid and the   
many systems that maintained it. She really didn't trust expert   
systems to handle it.  
  
***  
  
Some distance from Asteroid 1738-D, Space Fortress Barge   
floated in the void. The biggest symbol of the Alliances military   
power in space, Barge was undoubtably a powerful space station,   
housing hundreds of Space Leo suits, countless defense turrets, and   
of course the Barge Cannon, the largest, most powerful particle beam   
weapon in existance.  
  
It's a shame it's so damn ugly. Well, that's what Hilde   
Schbeiker thought as she looked at it out of her shuttle window. "It   
looks like a pile of scrap metal welded together," she commented.  
  
"It doesn't look that bad," her copilot replied. "It gets the   
job done after all."  
  
Hilde turned away from the viewport. "That's true Rei, but it   
doesn't really get the job done with style now, does it?"  
  
"Style is irrelevant," Rei Diggers replied, adjusting the   
shuttles course slightly. "I'd have thought that there'd be more   
Suits on patrol around here right now, what with the situation on   
Earth."  
  
"The Gundams are a long way away from here," Hilde said. "The   
Space Forces see no real reason to increase their defenses when they   
are seemingly beyond the Gundams reach. Speaking of which, what's the   
deal with the other Gundams?"  
  
Rei simply shrugged. "They are quite a mystery. But what I have   
to wonder at is their deployment on the same day as the Sorceress. I   
wonder if Grandmother has found their origin yet?"  
  
Hilde shrugged. "We'll find out soon enough. I really wish we   
could have equipped this shuttle better."  
  
"We can hide some of our systems from most scanners, but the   
degree you want-"  
  
"I know, I know," Hilde replied, cutting off Rei mid-sentence.   
"It's be obvious to any half decent scanners that this freighter is   
nowhere near the standard model. But I don't have to like it."  
  
Rei nodded in agreement, then glanced at one of the screens in   
front of her. "I'm reading three Space Leos on an approach vector."  
  
"Weapons status?" Hilde asked as she dropped into her seat and  
strapped in.  
  
"Targeting systems are inactive. We're not being scanned. Seems   
to be routine. They're hailing us." Hilde put on the headset just as   
Rei answered the call.  
  
"This is Barge Patrol Squadron Sixteen. Identify yourselves   
and your destination."  
  
"This is the Freighter Wanderer's Luck, on route to Resource   
Satelite MU-14," Hilde replied.  
  
"Your cargo?"  
  
The young woman looked out at the Leos, now hovering a few   
hundred metres from the ship, and hoped that the masking fields   
around the Gundamium confused the Suits scanners. "Food supplies,   
along with some replacement mining equipment."  
  
"What's your reason for coming so close to Barge? You're   
dangerously close to military space."  
  
she thought to   
herself. "I planned to save on fuel. I have no intentions of actually   
entering the military zone."  
  
There were a few moments of silence, during which Rei's hands   
were about ready to slam the throttle to full power, before the Leo   
pilot spoke again. "Understood Wanderer's Luck. Continue on present   
course." And with that, the Leos turned on the spot and flew off.  
  
Hilde let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding, then   
glanced at Rei. "Why is it the Alliance always has to put themselves   
between us and our goal, even when they don't realise it?" she asked.  
  
"A certain pain known as Murphy," Rei replied, her green eyes   
sparkling with amusement.  
  
"Right. Remind me to kick him in the nuts when I meet him."   
  
"Get in line."  
  
Hilde grinned, then glanced at Barge. "Keep on the current   
course until we're beyond Barge's sensors, then set a course for   
1738-D. I'm going to check the cargo."  
  
Rei nodded and checked the controls in front of her as Hilde   
pushed off and floated towards the door at the rear of the control   
room.  
  
***  
  
At the Corsica Base, Zechs Marquis entered a small hanger on   
its outskirts. He came to a stop almost instantly, looking up at the   
massive, half complete Mobile Suit in front of him. "It's huge."  
  
Next to him, the subordinate nodded. "When I read the battle   
reports on the Gundams, I was reminded of this Suit. The local   
engineers call this old relic a museum piece. However, this Mobile   
Suit is only one that has features comparable to the Gundams. I don't   
know all the details, but in order for this suit to maintain its   
structual integrity, it had to be this large. Engineers in the past   
saw no need for such a huge Mobile suit so that's why the present   
suit size became standardized." He paused for a moment, pulling   
something up from the back of his mind. "Tallgeese... I believe   
that's what they called it."  
  
Zechs simply nodded, lost in thought. He studied the half-  
completed Suit, noting with minor amusement that it was holding its   
own head in its right hand. "They never completed it?"  
  
The subordinate nodded in reply. "Like I said, the design   
program was cancelled, and Romafeller began working on the standard   
Leo Suits. From what I've seen of Talgeeses specs, it's far superior   
to even the new Tauros Suits."  
  
"A twenty year old Suit, more powerful then cutting edge?"   
Zechs asked, surprised. The Gundams he could understand, considering   
the battle reports he had gotten from Metallium, but this?  
  
"That's the difference between mass-produced Suits and one of a   
kind. Some of the parts in the Tauros are similar to those in the   
Tallgeese, only they've become a lot cheaper to produce in the past   
twenty years."  
  
"Makes sense," Zechs replied. "How long do you estimate it   
would take to complete this Suit?"  
  
The other man shrugged. "Best guess? About a month, give or   
take. Even with the advances over the past two decades, a lot of the   
parts need to be made from scratch. Whoever designed this thing was   
either a genius or totally insane."  
  
"Get started on it," Zechs ordered, looking over the original   
Mobile Suit one last time before leaving the hanger.  
  
***  
  
It was only 5am station time when Bri' woke, having gotten   
about four hours of sleep. The experience of doing this for years   
meant that it was more then enough to keep her going for the rest of   
the day, with the help of some coffee.  
  
"Good morning? I miss anything while I was asleep?" she asked   
Ruri as she dropped into her seat in the main control room.  
  
"The Alliance released a description of Lina. Very inaccurate.   
They got some of the basic features right, but the age is wrong, and   
they believe she has cybernetics installed. They're looking into   
various medical companies now."  
  
The woman raised an eyebrow. "Now how'd they come to that   
conclusion?"  
  
"When Lina was dodging the Tauros Suits, she was moving at   
speeds no normal human is capable of reaching," the CI pointed out.  
  
Bri' blinked, then considered that. "Oh yeah, I always forget   
that. Well, no reason to let them know they're wrong. Anything else?"  
  
Ruri nodded. "Last night, a young man suspected of being the   
pilot of Zero-One or at least having information on the Gundams was   
taken into custody. Someone snuck into an Alliance base, shorted out   
the security systems and freed him. Both men have since vanished."  
  
"Interesting," Bri' concluded before downing a mouthful of   
coffee. "Any details on the pair?"  
  
"There are images of the escaped prisoner," Ruri answered, and   
the image of a man slightly younger then Lina appeared. "However,   
pictures of someone in an unconcious state are not very useful in   
tracking down someone."  
  
"It provides a basic description," Lina replied. "Run the image   
through the database, see what pops up. Status on our non-Gundam   
units?"  
  
"All missions have been completed, and everyone is returning.   
They should all be here by the end of the day. Rei and Hilde ran into   
Barge, but they managed to avoid detection."  
  
"You mean that damn station moved again?" Bri' muttered. Ruri   
nodded, and her creator sighed. "I swear, that thing is one of the   
biggest pains in the rear I've ever encountered. What about the   
Barton Foundation, anything from them?"  
  
"Increased activity by their CorpSec division," Ruri said. "At   
the moment, they appear to have no major connection to the Gundams   
movement on Earth. They appear to be attempting to locate a number of   
people. I have images and physical descriptions, but not much more.   
I'm already running them through the database, but so far, there have   
been no matches found. Regarding the Gundams, the Suits designated   
Zero-Three and Four have been sighted during an attack on the Corsica   
Base."  
  
"Both of them?" Bri' commented with a little surprise. "Working   
together?"  
  
"Not at first," Ruri replied. One of the side monitors began   
displaying images taken by satelites and Suits during the battle.   
Gundam 03 tore a path of destruction through the base with the   
massive autocannon on its left arm. Bri' watched it for a moment,   
admiring the design of the Suit.  
  
"Quite well made," she commented. "It's obviously made for   
ranged combat, and it appears capable of engaging targets attacking   
from multiple directions. I'm not sure about placing those two   
cannons inside its chest though." Her voice trailed off as the other   
Gundam joined the battle, blasting a path of destruction through the   
remaining Aries. This Gundam seemed to be designed more for close   
combat, with only a few vulcan cannons for ranged fighting. It used   
its speed to get in close while its backup... "Ruri, are those Suits   
Sandstorms? From the UAN?" The pictures weren't very good quality,   
but the general outline of the Suits matched.  
  
"Correct. I'm not sure, but I suspect they're the Manguanac   
Corps, one of the United Arab Nations elite units."  
  
Bri' whistled in admiration. She'd had dealings with the UAN   
before, both good and bad, and she'd learnt quite a bit about their   
military forces. "Looks like Zero-Four has quite a few friends in   
high places," she commented. "Remind me to make a few calls to people   
in the UAN later."  
  
The monitors then began displaying footage taken only from   
satelite cameras - No Mobile Suit footage due to the fact that there   
were _no_ Alliance Suits left in the area. Both Gundams began to   
fight hand to hand, each trying to get the advantage. From what   
Brianna saw, it would take some time before either of the Suits would   
do that with only fists.  
  
But then 04 just stopped. The woman couldn't see what was going   
on, but then 03 stopped moving as well. Both Gundams remained   
stationary for a moment, then turned and stomped off, the Manguanacs   
close behind. "Huh. Must have called a cease-fire or something. If   
the Gundams don't know each other, then they couldn't have been built   
by the same group."  
  
"Unless they were built at seperate locations," Ruri pointed   
out. "Alliance jamming of conventional space communications would   
make a constant exchange of details difficult at best."  
  
Bri' nodded in reply. "That is true. What about the other   
Gundams?"  
  
"Zero-Five is believed to be in Africa. It is suspected he is   
moving towards the Lake Victoria base to distroy the remaining Tauros   
Suits. Of the other two, there is no sign."  
  
Bri' nodded, downed another mouthful of coffee, then stood up.   
"I'll think about these while I'm working on Angelus. Let me know   
when Lina contacts us or any of the others get back."  
  
***  
  
It was about an hour later when the Wanderer's Luck reached   
1738-D. When the shuttle landed in one of the docking bays, Bri' was   
standing there waiting for them.  
  
"One shipment of Gundamium and assorted bits and pieces," Hilde   
reported as she opened the cargo bay. "We had a little problem with   
the Alliance, but we managed to sneak by."  
  
"Good to hear," Brianna replied with a smile. "Leave the   
unloading to the machines, and come on down to the cafeteria. I'll   
fill you in on the situation there."  
  
"Sounds like a plan," Rei replied from the pilots seat where   
she was powering down the shuttle. After a moment, most of the lights   
went out, and she turned to face the other two women. "Let's eat."  
  
***  
  
Breakfast took quite a while due to two reasons. One, the   
younger women had to constantly stop eating to ask questions, and   
Bri' was only getting the occasional mouthful of food in between   
sentences.  
  
"So, you think that the Barton Foundation is behind the other   
Gundams?" Rei asked as she tore into her eggs. Bri' nodded in reply   
nd Rei continued. "Five Gundams ain't enough to take on the entire   
Earth Sphere. If you'rew right, they've got to have some other tricks   
up their sleeves."  
  
"But what else would they have?" Hilde noted. "Building five   
Gundams would have to be expensive. It's cost you a small fortune   
just to build the Angelus and Sorceress."  
  
"I may have a lot of allies around the Earth Sphere," Bri'   
said, "but in terms of money I've been working alone. The Barton   
Foundation has a lot of money, and they've already got the production   
facilities for Mobile Suits. That would give them a hell of a head   
start."  
  
"What if the Gundams are just the advance force?" Hilde   
wondered. "Their mission could be to cause a lot of disruption and   
damage to the Alliance, weakening them before the main forces   
attack."  
  
"If it is," Bri' replied, "then we need to decide who's worse.   
Barton or Treize. If the situation was explained to Marshal Noventa,   
I suspect he'd accept our help, but if we have to fight Treize and   
Barton at the same time..."  
  
"A war on two fronts is almost always a lost war," Ruri pointed   
out, her image appearing on a nearby monitor. "Lina has woken up.   
I've briefed her on the current details, and she's hoping to speak to   
you."  
  
Bri' nodded. "Put her through," she ordered, and the screen   
changed to show the Gundam rubbing at her neck. "I told you it was a   
bad idea to sleep in the Gundam," she commented.  
  
"After the racket I made last night, it was safer," Lina   
replied. She grinned at her cousin and friend. "Nice to see that you   
two didn't goof up too much."  
  
"Gee, thanks for the support," Hilde said. "Brianna says you've   
been busy yourself."  
  
Lina whistled. "Have I ever. After last night, I've been   
thinking things through, and I've come to a conclusion about the   
Tauros Suits. Destroying them all now might make Oz doubt their   
design. It should slow their production even more, give us an   
advantage."  
  
"What's to worry about?" Rei asked, shrugging her shoulders.   
"You desroyed all the Suits you fought last night."   
  
"That was only twelve of them, and they're far better then any   
Suit design I've ever faced before. When Oz brings them into service,   
they're going to have hundreds of them. Not to mention the fact that   
most of them will be in space, where they can use those new Beam   
Cannons the Alliance Weapons Development Division has designed.   
They'll be a lot more dangerous then."  
  
"Lina's right," Bri' replied. "Slowing down the Tauros Suits   
now is vital. Ruri, where are the remaining Suits located."  
  
"All remaining Tauros Suits are currently at the Lake Victoria   
base in Africa," the CI reported. "As I stated earlier, Alliance   
Inteligence believes Gundam Zero-Five is on it's way there."  
  
"Then I'm going to Lake Victoria," Lina said. "If I can make   
contact with that Gundam, we might be able to solve some of the   
mysteries around them."  
  
Brianna was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Right. I know a   
few smugglers that can get you out of Australia. They're not fond of   
the Alliance or Oz, so you should be able to sneak out quietly. I'll   
contact them after breakfast and arrange it. For now, have something   
to eat, then check the Gundams condition."  
  
Lina grinned. "Gotcha. I'll catch up with you later. Sorceress   
out."  
  
***  
  
End Part Three  
  
*** 


End file.
